Eight months into Australia's under-16 social media ban, teen TikTok use nears pre-ban level and younger kids' use rises

The Qustodio data shows that eight months after Australia's ban on under-16s accessing social media, TikTok usage among 13-to-15-year-olds is nearly back to pre-ban levels. At 26%, it is just one percentage point below the pre-ban figure. This suggests the ban has had a limited lasting effect on this age group.

More concerning is the reported increase in usage among 10-to-12-year-olds. This younger cohort is below the ban's age threshold, yet their usage is up. This could indicate that the ban is pushing younger children to the platform, or that enforcement is not effective for that age group.

The data comes from Qustodio, a parental control vendor, and is a single measurement in July. Without additional context on methodology or historical trends, it is hard to draw strong conclusions. However, the numbers align with the idea that age-based bans are difficult to enforce in practice.

For engineers and product teams, this highlights the challenge of building effective age verification and enforcement mechanisms. The rise in younger users suggests that simple age gates are insufficient. Any solution must consider how to prevent circumvention without harming legitimate users.