Is the social media ban working?

Is the social media ban for under-16s working?

Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under 16 has been in place for around 5 months now. The original goal was to protect kids from potential harms linked to social media like online bullying and mental health concerns - so both parents and other countries considering a similar approach have been watching closely. New studies have been released recently which give us a clearer picture of how it’s going, so in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ve got Squiz Kids chief Bryce Corbett with us to talk about:

• whether it’s working

• what the reaction has been

• and what’s next... 

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Squiz the Shortcut

Bryce, given your work with Squiz Kids and Newshounds, the social media ban has been a big focus. Let’s start by getting your take on it - have you seen any notable effect?
Well I think it’s been mixed - that’s perhaps the most diplomatic way I would put it. It’s had big success in terms of focusing the nation’s attention on the scale of the problem, but limited success in terms of solving it. 

So families are talking about it more?
Yep… There’s been a noticeable uptick in the conversations that are happening in households around the country about what kids are seeing when they’re online - and that’s good. But in terms of whether there are fewer kids on social media platforms today than before the ban was introduced in December, I think that’s negligible.

Remind me again which platforms are banned?
All up there are 10 banned. They include the 3 big Meta platforms of Facebook, Instagram and Threads. There’s also video platforms TikTok and YouTube, video streamers Twitch and Kick - and the last 3 are Snapchat, Reddit and X…

And how does it work logistically?
The government has asked the platforms themselves to ensure no one under 16 is allowed on them, and how they do that is difficult to work out because it’s up to the companies to sort that out. But they have a number of ways they go about it… 

What’s in their bag of tricks?
They’re using things like facial analysis to work out if a user is old enough, using AI and other tech to get a sense of users’ ages from their online behaviour and habits, and even looking for confirmation of their age from friends and relatives through things like birthday comments. And they have some cold hard cash riding on getting it right…

What happens if they don’t get it right?
If they don’t comply with the laws, the government says they’ll be fined up to $49.5 million. No one’s been fined yet - but the eSafety Commissioner says it’s investigating whether some of the tech giants are doing enough. There are some cases already being looked into and a decision is expected on whether the companies involved will be fined midway through this year - so, soonish…  

So, how many kids under 16 are still using social media?
A YouGov poll out this week of 1,500 teens found that 85% say they’re still on social media, and 22% have actually increased their use. And a report by the eSafety Commission from March says that more than 2-thirds of Aussie kids under 16 are still on the platforms. But there’s good news too…

Tell me more…
In the YouGov poll, 87% of parents said they’re having conversations with their kids about social media and its risks, and more parents are monitoring their kids' social media use. There are also some signs that online bullying has dropped - the poll says by 9%… 

How are some kids getting around the ban?
A report on the weekend by the ABC said students are using fake accounts to post gossip and malicious content - just circumventing the ban by not posting under their own name… Fake accounts aren’t anything new, but the eSafety Commissioner says that it’s working on ways to make that more difficult. 

What’s the motivation for them to stay online?
Researchers in Chicago have also been conducting research into this ban - the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics came to a few conclusions after surveying nearly 750 Aussie teenagers. It found that “most banned teens believe their peers are still using banned platforms, most describe circumvention as easy, and most non-compliers point to social forces - friends still on the platforms and the fear of missing out - as the reason why they continue”. So, in other words, social media is still cool. 

How does the Australian Government think it’s going?
A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells says that her frustration is with how the social media companies are going about things. She says “the social media ban isn’t failing - big tech is failing to comply with the law”. She also says it’s been successful in terms of the attention it’s getting here and around the world, and that parents have been telling her about the “sheer relief they feel being released from the grip of social media”. 

What about the kids themselves?
As you can imagine, there have been loads of vocal kids speaking out about the ban. One prominent one is Noah Jones - he’s a 15yo who’s part of the High Court challenge run by the Digital Freedom Project, which is challenging the ban in court on the basis that every Australian should have a constitutional right to exist freely online. Not every teen sees it that way though. Some kids are seeing benefits - 14yo Grace, for example, told the Guardian that the ban helped her realise that “we sometimes depend on social media a bit too much”. 

What about the big tech companies?
They’ve been critical of this ban from the beginning, saying it’s unworkable and fails to take into account the positive impact social media can have. Some platforms say they’ve been included in the ban unfairly. On that, Reddit has launched a legal challenge in the High Court, arguing that it’s a knowledge-sharing platform rather than a social media one. And some companies who aren’t caught up in it are weighing in…

Like who…?
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia - which isn’t a social media platform and isn’t affected by the ban - called it “an unmitigated disaster and an embarrassment”. He says any policy mandating that users hand over data - even facial recognition data - to a big tech company is bad news. He reckons the focus should be on educating adults on how to use parental controls, instead of banning kids from social media… 

And what about at The Squiz?
We’ve long argued that the education of kids is going to be crucial to us avoiding a social media-inspired armageddon. Long-time Squizers will know - because I bang on about it endlessly - that Squiz Kids’ Newshounds program is teaching primary school kids to STOP, THINK and CHECK before believing everything they see online. 

Why is that important?
Increasingly, schools, teachers, curriculum authorities and even governments around the country are starting to come on board in understanding that teaching kids BEFORE they have a smartphone how to think critically about stuff they see when they are online is the best protection we’re going to have as a society to the many undesirable side effects of the digital age that they are going to grow up to live in.

What other countries are planning social media bans?
It’s mostly in Europe, but the list is growing and now includes Norway, Finland, the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Greece and many more… They’re all watching this very carefully to see what works and what doesn’t. So, how the ban is enforced is really the next big test… 

Just explain that a bit more…
There’s a lot still to play out - like whether the eSafety Commission issues fines to any big tech platforms in the next month or so, if those companies agree to pay the fines, or if they potentially take legal action over them. That’s the next big test to watch, because so far, it seems like the difference to the lives of teens hasn’t been as dramatic as what might’ve been anticipated…

Onto our Recommendations

Watching: This episode of Spotlight dives into where the social media ban is up to and what’s next…

Listening: The Big Threat podcast series - based on Bryce’s Churchill Fellowship travels looks at how other countries are tackling the problem of mis and dis-information 

Newshounds: The free classroom resource by Squiz Kids which teaches kids to be critical consumers of media and to STOP, THINK and CHECK before believing what they see online

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