Australia's eSafety Commissioner found the share of surveyed 10-to-15-year-olds with accounts on eSafety-assessed age-restricted platforms fell to 42.1%, while legal challenges to the rule are set for November hearings.
In the March-April 2026 follow-up, 42.1% of 803 children said they had an account on at least one such platform. That was down from 52.4% on the matched past-four-week account measure in the November-December 2025 baseline. eSafety described the decline as statistically significant.
Account ownership and recent use showed different patterns. At the follow-up, 81.5% said they had used at least one eSafety-assessed age-restricted platform in the previous four weeks, compared with 85.9% at baseline. eSafety said the use figure can include browsing while logged out or access through a relative's or friend's profile.
Among children who still held an account, 50.2% said a platform had not asked them to confirm their age; 18.2% said an age check estimated their age incorrectly. The broader evaluation follows more than 4,000 children and families over two years. eSafety said the three-month findings cannot establish whether any individual platform met its obligations or what lasting effects the policy will have.
The law took effect Dec. 10, 2025, and requires designated services to use reasonable measures to stop users younger than 16 from maintaining accounts. Children and parents do not face penalties. eSafety's current guidance lists the maximum corporate penalty at A$109.2 million.
In a March 31 update, eSafety flagged Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for potential enforcement review and said it was gathering evidence. The agency says an enforcement case requires evidence about a provider's compliance measures, beyond the fact that some under-16s still have accounts. In a May 27 Senate statement, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said, “We have not yet reached a final determination on whether platforms are taking reasonable steps.”
The High Court docket lists challenges by Digital Freedom Project Incorporated and Reddit, Inc. over whether the law places an impermissible burden on the implied freedom of political communication. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Communications Minister Anika Wells expected eSafety to pursue Federal Court action against five major platforms over alleged noncompliance.
CBS News quoted Noah Jones in its Oct. 25 “60 Minutes” report describing social media as “the modern town square.” The High Court has scheduled full-court hearings in Canberra for Nov. 3 and 4.
