How are they getting around it? I thought Australia implemented some sort of ID verification? And given that social media platforms notoriously refuse to run on VPNs, how are the teenagers bypassing the checks? Is everyone there using their parent’s ID or something?!
Of the parents who reported their child had an account on each platform prior to 10 December 2025, around 7 in 10 reported that their child still had an account on Facebook (63.6%), Instagram (69.1%), Snapchat (69.4%), and TikTok (69.3%). Around 3 in 10 reported that their child no longer had an account. One in two of these parents (48.5%) reported that their child still had an account on YouTube following the age restrictions coming into effect.
How are they getting around it? I thought Australia implemented some sort of ID verification? And given that social media platforms notoriously refuse to run on VPNs, how are the teenagers bypassing the checks? Is everyone there using their parent’s ID or something?!
When I was required to provide ID, I just googled a random sample ID card and used that. Took all of 5 minutes.
I mean, you’re quite literally writing this on a social media platform that doesn’t comply with their law.
The platforms aren’t complying with the law:
https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-03/SocialMediaMinimumAgeComplianceUpdateMarch2026.pdf
I see. Thanks for the link.
To answer the question as written, you did think so. I’m mostly certain of this. Glad I could help.