Two thirds of Australian teens still using social media despite under-16s ban

TechTwo thirds of Australian teens still using social media despite under-16s banMost children still using restricted platforms say it’s ‘easy’ to circumvent banVishwam Sankaran Monday 27 April 2026 08:20 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2965396","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/australia-social-media-under-16-ban-b2965396.html","title":"Two thirds of Australian teens still using social media despite under-16s ban"}}CloseRelated: Australia bans children from social media. Could other countries follow suit?Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inboxSign up to our free IndyTech newsletterSign up to our free IndyTech newsletterEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Tech_Newsletter","regTitle":"IndyTech","subscriptionGroup":"indytech","subscriptionGroupId":"c9972e20-b4d1-4401-a88f-777e77be0046","type":"tech","pathPrefix":["/space","/tech","/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech","/tech/security"],"associatedAuthors":["Andrew Griffin","Anthony Cuthbertson"],"title":"Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/indyTech1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveTech","regSourceSection":"Tech","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}Most children in Australia still use restricted social media platforms despite the ban for under-16s, according to a major new survey that raises questions about the effectiveness of the legal measure.About two thirds of Australian 12 to 15-y...