Even with Australia’s tough regulations around social media for under-16s, the platform TikTok is welcoming Australian teens back. New data indicates that the first drop in usage after the ban is now beginning to climb, bringing up new questions about the efficacy of the age restrictions for keeping young people off social media.

TikTok use among 13- to 15-year-old Australian children has risen to almost pre-restriction levels, a trend that shows no signs of reversing, a parental control software company has found. However, some younger children are also using it, indicating that the rules may not be fully effective in preventing underage use.

Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Fails as Children Return to Platforms https://t.co/RFMQ3BXhrI

— Slay News (@Slay_News_) August 30, 2026

Australia’s under-16 social media restrictions are part of a wider initiative to safeguard children from possible risks of social media. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat have been criticised for the negative impacts on young people’s mental health, excessive screen time, online security, and exposure to damaging material.

At first, these regulations had an impact on children’s access to some of the major social media platforms. But its usage has been slowly rising once again. Children are increasingly exploiting age limits by giving false birthdays, manipulating tools that hide their age or location or exploiting age verification system flaws, experts believe.

It feels like TikTok is one service that’s noticeably seeing this recovery. There is also some recovery to be had in major platforms, though on some platforms it is less than the previous rate.

Meanwhile, there is a movement away from services that are restricted, and towards services that are not restricted. For instance, the use of WhatsApp has increased among teenagers. This demonstrates one of the problems governments encounter in curbing young people’s use of certain social media – they could switch to another social media platform.

The results have caught the eyes of governments of the world. Australia is one of the first countries to have implemented very general measures to curb social media access for those under 16 years, and other governments are looking into doing the same. New Zealand, too, has been considering introducing tougher age restrictions for younger social media users.

The efficacy of Australia’s strategy will most likely be more apparent in time. Regulators are keeping a close eye on whether tech firms are doing enough to implement age restrictions, and social media firms are under growing pressure to improve their systems.

None of Australia’s big social media sites has been ticketed for breach of the age limits so far. The government has said it will create greater enforcement measures and increase penalties for companies which do not comply with their duties.

So, Australia is increasingly becoming a test case in social media regulation. The restrictions seemed to have cut down on access to the site, but with younger users now using it, it may be necessary to do more than ban access. Such measures may need to be put in place in the long term with effective age verification, greater cooperation and enforcement between governments, tech companies and parents.