Australia’s social media ban was meant to shut kids out, a $70 million experiment in which Australia became the first country to ban social media for under 16s. Five months on, most are still getting in.
The law came into force on December 10, requiring platforms to enforce strict age checks or face fines of up to $50 million for failing to take “reasonable steps".
Now, the first major test of the ban suggests little has changed.
An exclusive 7NEWS Spotlight investigation tonight revealed the key findings from a nationwide survey, the largest poll taken since the ban.
The 7NEWS Spotlight/YouGov survey of 1,500 Australians aged 13 to 15 shows 85% are still using social media daily. Other key findings:
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More than half (52%) say it’s still easy to access platforms
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Most (51%) simply lie about their age
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51% have reported no change in their social media use
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Another 22% say their use has increased
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The top platforms they’re on remain unchanged - YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook
But beneath the headline numbers, there are signs of minor progress for those under-16s still on the platforms:
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Online bullying is down by 9%
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Exposure to inappropriate and violent content has dropped by 18%
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30% of kids aged between 13 and 15 have reported an increase in time doing sports activities
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27% say their quality of sleep has improved
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According to the findings, it’s not the platforms but Australian parents who are driving the improvements:
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67% of parents are now monitoring teens use of social media
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87% of kids have discussed the ban with their parents
YouGov Director of Public Data and Affairs, Paul Smith, told 7NEWS Spotlight: "I think it’s not surprising that young people would want to be on social media, but it’s clear that the social media companies have not done anywhere near enough to get young people off social media.
“Parents have felt empowered by the ban, and those 67% of Australian parents who are monitoring their children are clearly making a difference in driving that improvement in the life experience of, ‘all right, you’ve been on that long enough, now it’s time to go out and do something else’.”
Despite the landmark laws making global headlines, serious doubts have emerged about whether tech giants are doing enough to enforce the ban, and whether kids are still slipping through the cracks.
For Emma Mason, the issue is deeply personal. Her daughter Tilly died by suicide after relentless bullying. Now, she’s campaigning for stronger protections.
She wants tech giants to do more to remove under-16s from their platforms and told 7NEWS Spotlight: “Success is that parents and teachers and schools are talking about this. Children are talking about this. And the children that are 10 and downwards will end up with a life in Australia where this is not the norm."
“The government wasn’t going to wait to try and get the technology right because technology is constantly changing and it’s like trying to put a fence around a cyclone, trying to get everything right in time to get this law to work perfectly," she said.
“So, I think what it says is there’s a significant work to be done, but the work needs to be done by the social media companies who are continuing to allow this to happen.”
The major 7NEWS Spotlight investigation also exposed explosive internal documents Big Tech never wanted made public, revealing the extent of planning that goes into addicting children to social platforms.
Emma Mason commented to 7NEWS Spotlight: “It’s the disconnect between these documents that show the truth of what’s going on in these companies. And then the face of Antigone Davis, head of safety for Meta, who stands in front of our government and says, ‘I don’t think social media has done harm to our children’.
“I mean, it riles me so much… because I just think, how can you as a company with that face say those things in circumstances where you well know the truth of the way you are functioning as a company?
“I think it’s such a disconnect. It’s a slap in the face to parents.”