Australia’s social media restrictions for people under the age of 16 are already being bypassed by some teenagers, according to the country’s digital safety regulator. Three months after the rules came into effect, young users are reportedly finding ways around the controls by using virtual private networks and manipulating age verification systems.
Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, said during a UK parliamentary committee hearing on science, innovation and technology that some teenagers have been particularly adept at working around the restrictions.
She noted that attempts to bypass age limits are not unusual when new digital restrictions are introduced, especially among younger users who are comfortable experimenting with technology. Despite the workarounds, the Australian government’s enforcement of the rules is being closely monitored by other countries that are considering similar measures to limit children’s access to social media platforms.
Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide restriction of this kind, prompting wider international discussion about how governments should address concerns over the effects of social media on children.
The rules target major platforms including Instagram and Facebook, which are owned by Meta, as well as Snapchat, X, TikTok and YouTube. Messaging services and gaming platforms were not included in the ban. When the legislation came into force in December, about five million accounts were reportedly closed as a result.
Inman Grant said the country is now entering a more challenging stage of enforcement. Responsibility for preventing underage users from accessing the platforms largely falls on the companies that operate them, which must implement systems to identify and block accounts belonging to people under the required age.
One of the most common ways teenagers are avoiding the restrictions is through the use of virtual private networks, commonly known as VPNs. These tools allow users to mask their location online, making it appear as though they are accessing services from a different country where restrictions may not apply.
Critics of social media bans have long argued that determined teenagers would find technical solutions such as VPNs or migrate to alternative online platforms that may be less regulated.
The debate over youth access to social media is not limited to Australia. According to researchers studying the issue, at least 14 countries are currently considering laws that would introduce similar restrictions.
Jeff Hancock, director of the Stanford Social Media Lab, said during the same parliamentary hearing that Australia’s legislation has triggered wider international discussions about how governments should regulate social media use by children.
In the United Kingdom, lawmakers recently voted against introducing a comparable ban through legislation. However, the government is continuing to examine how children use digital technologies and has not ruled out introducing restrictions in the future.
The broader push to protect younger internet users is also contributing to a global expansion of age verification systems online. In several countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, access to adult websites now requires identity checks such as facial recognition scans or verification using government-issued identification.
Supporters of these measures say they help protect children from harmful online content, while critics warn that widespread identity verification could raise new concerns about privacy and data security.