Australian Study Finds Little Change in Teen Social Media Use After Ban
Researchers surveyed more than 400 users and found only slight changes in teen use, suggesting limited compliance after the new rules took effect.
- A University of Newcastle, Australia study reveals that four out of five Australian young people still access social media after the under-16 ban took effect, with research suggesting "insufficient evidence of any substantive early effects" of the legislation.
- Researchers surveyed more than 400 teens immediately before and three months after restrictions took effect, finding 85 per cent of those under 16 continued using restricted platforms amid "limited implementation, incomplete compliance, and substantial circumvention."
- Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, warned the ban fails to address "fundamental product safety issues" such as harmful content pushed through personalized algorithms to teenagers.
- Technology Secretary Liz Kendall acknowledged the ban is not a "complete silver bullet," saying it aims to provide clarity for parents; researchers suggest future government actions must prioritize education mechanisms to encourage compliance and wellbeing.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Michael West
The QueenslanderDeepfake AIs shut down as beefed-up social ban looms
Three more AI “nudifying” platforms have been taken down in Australia as the federal government flags plans to strengthen its world-first social media age restrictions. The nation’s online watchdog said the services, which use existing images to generate nude pictures of real people, had withdrawn from Australia under the threat of legal action. Such platforms would be blurred online until they introduced age verification in a bid to prevent chi…
Is Australia's Social Media Ban Working For Young Users?
A new study by the University of Newcastle has found that Australia's ban on social media use for children under 16 has had limited early impact, with most teenagers continuing to access restricted platforms despite the new rules. Researchers surveyed more than 400 young people before the legislation took effect and again three months later. 💡The findings showed that 85% of participants under the age of 16 were still using social media, suggest…
Australia is the first country in the world to ban social media for under 16-year-olds - but most young people are still online. This is shown by a new study, whose significance is controversial.
A few months after the entry into force of the law prohibiting access to social networks for children under 16 years of age, Australia already has a problem in hand. A new study reveals that...
3 Months After Australia’s Social Media Ban, Study Finds No Clear Reduction in Teen Use
Three months after Australia’s under-16 social media ban began, more than 85 percent of surveyed teenagers were still using restricted platforms, with researchers finding no clear evidence the law had significantly reduced use. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found no “immediate substantive reductions” in adolescents’ access to platforms affected by the restrictions. The researchers surveyed 436 young people aged between 12 …
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources are Center, 38% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
