- Six months in, 78% of under-16s still use banned platforms
- 42% of parents find it hard to enforce the ban
- Only 1 in 3 under-16s have had their faces scanned for age verification, and half of those were able to pass as over 16
- Support for the ban remains high, with 76% of Australians still backing the policy
SYDNEY, 4 June 2026: New research conducted by global data and insights company, Pureprofile Limited (ASX: PPL), reveals that Australia’s social media ban has had a limited impact on access to banned social media platforms, with 78% (vs 84% in 2025) of under-16s still accessing these platforms, and parents left doing much of the enforcement work.
Following its first report in December 2025, the second wave gathers perceptions and attitudes towards the ban from 1,025 parents, teachers and young Australians.
While support for the ban continues to be high (76% vs 73% in 2025), two in five (41%) of under-16s say they’ve tried to get around the ban, with parents reporting a similar figure: 43% say their children have made an attempt.
Unsurprisingly, more older children have tried to find a workaround versus those that are younger – according to 46% of 13-15-year-olds and 49% of their parents vs 37% of 8-12-year-olds and 41% of their parents. This validates the pre-ban scepticism: in 2025, 68% of all respondents believed children would be able to continue to access social media platforms despite the ban.
Inconsistent age-verification tech leaves parents struggling to enforce ban
A key finding of the report is that age-verification measures appear inconsistent in both reach and effectiveness. Only 31% of children report having undergone face-scanning age verification, and of those, roughly half say they were able to pass as over 16.
With platforms not managing to block under-16s, parents are having to enforce the ban themselves. Over half (57%) of parents say they have tried to enforce the ban, while 42% of those parents say they found it difficult to do so.
Martin Filz, CEO, Pureprofile, said: “Six months post-ban, the findings suggest many of the concerns raised before the ban have materialised. While support for the policy remains strong, parents are under overwhelming pressure to enforce it – fighting to control a highly tech-savvy generation accessing platforms via browser instead of in-app, using their friends’ accounts, signing up with fake birthdays and more.
“It’s clear the ban’s success or failure now rests firmly on what’s happening at home, at least until enforcement technology catches up to the reality on the ground. As the report suggests, success is generally strongest where families have the capacity and digital fluency to take an approach that balances relationship, education, sensible oversight and empowerment.”
The ban’s positive influence
Despite its inconsistency, parents and children have reported participating in more outdoor and offline activities since the ban, with 77% of parents finding its impacts positive (up from 47% in 2025).
Both parents and children have said they are now prioritising offline activities like reading, sports and creative hobbies over screen time while others are gaming and watching TV more or choosing to watch YouTube under supervision.
“Even though the social media ban does require refining for a more consistent performance – as all new technology does – it’s also encouraging to see families taking the opportunity to spend more time outdoors and offline. Some children undoubtedly miss online interactions with their friends, but many are also making full use of their extra time for in-person socialising with family and friends.”
Kids shifting platforms as online risks remain
A side-effect of the ban is teens moving their online activity out of sight rather than out of risk. The report found that under-16s are “switching platforms” rather than leaving online spaces altogether, such as moving to YouTube Kids and accessing Discord instead of banned platforms. Some banned platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, on the other hand, saw increased usage for 8-12-year-olds in parent/child reporting.
While platform use may be changing, children’s exposure to harmful content remains significant. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) of 13-15-year olds and more than a third (37%) of 8-12-year-olds report exposure to violent/graphic content, while 35% of 8-15-year-olds have been exposed to content deemed bullying, harassment or hateful. Others have also reported seeing sexual, age-inappropriate, racist or self-harm/eating-disorder content.
Yet, of parents who report that their child has been exposed to inappropriate content, more than 80% are more likely to care about enforcing the ban.
“Other countries have been studying Australia’s progress with the ban and have considered emulating it, and this data has good takeaways for them to refine their strategy. Ultimately, policy alone cannot determine success; it requires parental motivation and ability to effectively restrict harmful social media use,” Filz said.
Download the Australia’s Under-16s Social Media Ban: Wave 2 Report 2026
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About Pureprofile
Pureprofile’s vision is to deliver more value from the world’s information.
We are a global data and insights organisation providing industry-leading online research solutions to agencies, marketers, researchers and brands & businesses.
Our research delivers rich insights into real human behaviour and provides the “Why” behind the “What” through our unique ResTech and SaaS solutions. We build in-depth profiles of consumers via our proprietary and partner panels and give businesses the ability to understand, target, and ultimately engage with their audiences.
The Company, founded in 2000 and based in Surry Hills, Australia, now operates in North America, Europe and APAC and has delivered solutions for over 850 clients.
Media contact:
Agnes Wan for Pureprofile
[email protected]
+61 432 620 256
