Social media firms investigated in Australia as NZ moves on age limits

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Five social media companies in Australia are being investigated for potentially failing to comply with the Government’s under 16s social media ban, while many children still have accounts, the eSafety commissioner found.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is pressing ahead with its own social media ban, with the Government aiming to introduce legislation modelled closely on Australia’s before the November election.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are being investigated for potential non-compliance with the ban.

An update from eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on Tuesday identified a range of poor practices from social media companies.

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These included platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass their age assurance methods and prompting the user to try to pass the age assurance method even after they declared themselves underage.

eSafety found a “substantial” number of teens were still using their account, creating new accounts and bypassing age verification.

A survey of 898 parents and carers of children aged 8 to 15 found almost half reported their child had at least one social media account before the ban. After the ban, 31% said their child still had an account the most common reason being that they had not yet been asked by the platform to verify their age.

eSafety reported there had been no discernible drop in cyberbullying or image‑based abuse complaints involving under‑16s’ social media accounts since the ban came into effect.

It also noted parents’ frustration that platforms had not removed their children’s accounts.

eSafety found that in some cases facial age‑estimation was the sole verification method, meaning a 14‑year‑old flagged as underage could keep their account if the technology estimated them as over 16.

Some platforms enabled a high number of re-attempts for users undergoing age assurance - in some cases, allowing attempts in the double-digits when recommended good practice is no more than five.

At least one platform was found to have contacted users who had said they were under 16, informing them they could verify their age if it was entered incorrectly.

It found there weren’t enough pathways for reporting age‑restricted accounts, and those that did exist were generally neither accessible nor effective

Social media companies could face fines of up to $49.5 million if they were found to have failed to take reasonable steps to comply with the ban.

Decisions on enforcement would be made by mid-2026.

A select committee inquiry into the harm faced by young New Zealanders online issued recommendations to the Government for stronger regulation, including support for banning social media use for under-16s.

Labour’s science, technology and innovation spokesperson, Reuben Davidson, said the ban was a complex area and that the party was watching Australia’s progress closely.

“We're open to working with the Government on this, however age restriction alone won't address the issues.”

His own member's bill called for an independent regulator, transparency, and safety by design.

National MP Catherine Wedd, whose members’ bill started the process, said the report provided useful insights.

She believed New Zealand should be a “fast-follower” in this space as countries around the world moved to protect kids online.

“I’m continuing to work on ways to better protect Kiwi kids and their families from online harm.'

ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar, who authored the party’s minority view during the select committee inquiry, said the findings reinforced ACT’s long‑held concerns.

“ACT has consistently said that serious issues need proper responses, not half‑baked policies that are easy to evade and difficult to enforce. This report validates ACT’s concern that copying Australia’s under‑16s social media ban could undermine privacy and free expression without actually making young people safer.

“I requested a select committee inquiry into social media harm and potential responses precisely because ACT was concerned about the workability of a ban. It’s disappointing that the committee failed to seek thorough advice on this proposal.”