Just over three months ago, Australia’s world-leading regulations attempting to ban social media use by under-16s came into force. The relevant regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, has released its first compliance report on the effectiveness of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024. The report makes interesting reading, given the number of countries apparently considering whether to emulate the Australian endeavors.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the eSafety Commissioner finds “progress” to be remarkably modest. Based on a survey of 898 parents and caregivers of children age eight to 15 taken between January 19 and February 2, 2026, the commissioner reports that while just under half reported their children having their own account on at least one of the banned platforms prior to the law coming into force on December 10, 2025, that proportion decreased to only 31.3 percent in the survey period.
