The first eSafety report reveals ineffective verification systems on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube: fines of up to 50 million are on the way for the tech giants
Is Australia’s social media ban for under 16s working? Not exactly. According to the first report from the eSafety authority, around 7 out of 10 minors can circumvent the social ban. And the problem does not exclusively concern children’s strategies, but also the gaps in the verification systems adopted by platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Canberra is now raising the level of conflict and preparing fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars, to make the rules introduced become real facts.
The eSafety report: high numbers, but limited effectiveness for social blocking under 16s in Australia
Official data speak of millions of accounts removed: around 4.7 million by mid-December 2025, plus another 300 thousand in the first months of 2026. Important numbers, but according to eSafety these figures do not correspond to the real number of minors excluded from the platforms. Many deleted accounts were inactive or duplicated, while a significant portion of users under 16 continued to use social media without interruption. A survey conducted between January and February 2026 on parents of children aged between 8 and 15 confirms the picture. 69.4% of minors remained logged in on Snapchat, 69.3% on TikTok, 69.1% on Instagram, 63.6% on Facebook and 48.5% on YouTube
In other words, the majority of minors online before December 10, 2025 managed to remain active despite the ban.
How minors circumvent controls
The report highlights various strategies implemented by the children, often made possible by technical flaws and insufficient controls. The simplest method is also the most effective: declare a false age when registering. In many cases, in fact, the platforms do not apply immediate checks or reliable tools to ascertain the declared age. Another mechanism concerns i subsequent verification systems. Some platforms allow users to correct their age through tools such as facial estimation. Technologies which, especially near the age of 16, can return inaccurate results and encourage the transition to an “over 16” profile. Added to this is a structural problem: the excessive number of attempts allowed. Where the recommended limit is five trials, some platforms allow many more, giving minors the chance to repeat the process until they achieve a favorable outcome. Finally, they emerge critical issues also in blocking systems: in some cases, the stops for users declared under 16 last only a few hours, making it possible to re-register almost immediately with different data.
Responsibility of the platforms and risk of fines
For eSafety, the responsibility cannot be attributed only to users under 16. 66.8% of parents interviewed report that their children continue to use social media simply because age verification has never been requested. The authority therefore launched formal investigations into several technological giants, challenging practices deemed insufficient or incorrect: verification systems that can be circumvented; absence of more rigorous “cascade” controls in case of suspicions and complex procedures for parents who want to report irregular accounts. At this point by mid-2026, the regulator will have to decide on any sanctions. Fines of up to around 50 million Australian dollars are on the table. The message from the Australian government is clear: the obligation to enforce the ban does not fall only on families and minors, but directly on the platforms.
