Australia's Under-16 Social Media Ban Flounders After 6 Months as Teens Stay Online
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 10
Australia's Under-16 Social Media Ban Flounders After 6 Months as Teens Stay Online
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 10
Summary
Six months after Australia became the first country to impose a nationwide under-16 social media ban, the law has largely failed to keep young teenagers off major platforms.
Most signs point to weak real-world enforcement, with teens still maintaining access even as the measure is closely watched by parents and governments abroad.
Some parents say the ban may still matter most for 12- and 13-year-olds who were not yet on social media when it took effect and can now be kept off.
Naomi Parrish, for example, has used the law to resist repeated requests from her 12-year-old son to download TikTok after he received a smartphone.
That early test suggests the policy's clearest impact may be shaping habits of the next cohort of children rather than removing older teens already online.