Social Media Companies Promise to Enforce Age Ban Just As Soon As Someone Explains How

By BUREAU STAFF · March 31, 2026

Australia's eSafety Commissioner has expressed concerns that major social media platforms may not be adequately preventing children under 16 from accessing their services, prompting companies to assure regulators they are taking the matter seriously while simultaneously asking what, specifically, they are supposed to do about it.

CANBERRA — Major social media companies have pledged to improve their enforcement of Australia's under-16 ban following criticism from the national internet watchdog, with representatives from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube all confirming they are committed to complying with the law as soon as technical, practical and philosophical questions surrounding its implementation are resolved.

The eSafety Commissioner issued a statement Monday expressing concerns about current compliance levels, noting that the platforms appear to be allowing access to users who may be under the age threshold. In response, a spokesperson for Meta said the company takes the issue "extremely seriously" and has assembled a working group to study the findings of a previous working group that was formed to examine why an earlier working group had not yet met.

"We have robust systems in place," said the spokesperson, who declined to describe what those systems are, how they work, or whether they have ever successfully prevented a 15-year-old from clicking a button that says they are 16. The company noted it has invested significantly in age verification technology, though it acknowledged that technology currently consists of asking users their birth date and accepting whatever answer they provide.

Snapchat representatives told regulators the platform has implemented a multi-layered approach to compliance, including asking users if they are over 16, asking them again if they answer no the first time, and then asking a third time with the question phrased differently. TikTok said it uses advanced artificial intelligence to detect underage users, though sources familiar with the system said the AI primarily flags accounts belonging to short adults and people who enjoy cartoons.

YouTube announced it would begin requiring users to verify their age by 2025, pending the results of a consultation period to determine whether 2025 is feasible, and if not, which subsequent year might work better. A company statement noted that enforcement is complicated by the fact that millions of Australians under 16 created accounts before the ban took effect, and removing them now "would require us to actually do something, which raises questions about our terms of service, user privacy, and frankly, our entire business model."

At a press conference Tuesday, the eSafety Commissioner said she remained "cautiously optimistic" that platforms would improve compliance, adding that she looked forward to reviewing their progress at the next quarterly oversight meeting, assuming the platforms confirm they are available for such a meeting and agree on what "compliance" means.