Australia’s Under‑16 Social Media Ban Hits Enforcement Snag as Teens Evade Blocks

Overview

• Australia’s digital safety chief Julie Inman Grant told UK lawmakers that adolescents are getting around the ban with VPNs and deceptive age checks, ushering in a “second difficult phase” that places the onus on platforms.
• The UK’s Ofcom and ICO ordered Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube and others to outline by April 30 how they will bolster age verification and child safety features, warning of steep penalties under national law.
• Mexico’s education secretary Mario Delgado said the government has begun consultations with parents and educators to craft proposals by June for restrictions modeled on Australia’s approach.
• French lawmakers approved a ban for under‑15s in January that still awaits Senate ratification, and at least 14 countries are studying similar measures, according to Stanford researcher Jeff Hancock.
• Australia’s law has been in force since December for major social platforms but not messaging apps or games, about 5 million accounts were removed at launch, and authorities report early declines in cyberbullying and better classroom focus.