Australian Teens Seek Loopholes as Under-16 Social Media Ban Looms
With December 10 enforcement imminent, minors turn to parental verification and lesser-known apps to bypass the age-restriction law
In the week ahead of Australia’s landmark under-16 social media ban, many teenagers are already turning to workarounds to maintain access — particularly using parents’ credentials or migrating to smaller platforms not yet covered by the law.
The sweeping legislation will require major companies such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and X to block accounts for users under 16 and produce monthly removal-data reports under penalty of fines up to 50 million Australian dollars.
Some teens say they have successfully bypassed restrictions by having their parents submit verification credentials on their behalf — a 13-year-old told a journalist “I just put my mum’s face in for the facial verification and it worked.” According to a recent estimate, up to one in three parents are considering helping their children circumvent the ban.
This workaround raises doubts about the effectiveness of the age-verification measures once enforcement begins.
A surge in downloads has also been observed at smaller social apps that fall outside the scope of the new law.
Video-sharing platform , and photo-messaging apps such as and are among those seeing sharp increases, as teenagers seek alternative spaces unaffected by the December 10 deadline.
Coverstar, designed for younger users, markets itself as a safer alternative to TikTok — though experts caution that its moderation standards and age-verification mechanisms remain unproven.
Some parents and mental-health advocates warn that the ban could simply displace teens to fringe or less regulated digital platforms, potentially exposing them to greater risks.
Others argue that the shift could create a “whack-a-mole” scenario for regulators, as young people adopt creative means — including shared accounts or VPNs — to evade age checks.
Meanwhile, not all teens are trying to circumvent the rules.
Some accept the restrictions, while others express frustration — including a 15-year-old involved in a legal challenge to the law.
That teenager warned the ban will “isolate” youths now more than ever, pressing that parents, not the government, should decide social-media use.
The case remains pending in the High Court.
As December 10 approaches, the unfolding attempts to dodge the ban are already testing the resolve of regulators, the compliance systems of major platforms, and the policy’s stated goal of better protecting under-16s from online harms.
The sweeping legislation will require major companies such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and X to block accounts for users under 16 and produce monthly removal-data reports under penalty of fines up to 50 million Australian dollars.
Some teens say they have successfully bypassed restrictions by having their parents submit verification credentials on their behalf — a 13-year-old told a journalist “I just put my mum’s face in for the facial verification and it worked.” According to a recent estimate, up to one in three parents are considering helping their children circumvent the ban.
This workaround raises doubts about the effectiveness of the age-verification measures once enforcement begins.
A surge in downloads has also been observed at smaller social apps that fall outside the scope of the new law.
Video-sharing platform , and photo-messaging apps such as and are among those seeing sharp increases, as teenagers seek alternative spaces unaffected by the December 10 deadline.
Coverstar, designed for younger users, markets itself as a safer alternative to TikTok — though experts caution that its moderation standards and age-verification mechanisms remain unproven.
Some parents and mental-health advocates warn that the ban could simply displace teens to fringe or less regulated digital platforms, potentially exposing them to greater risks.
Others argue that the shift could create a “whack-a-mole” scenario for regulators, as young people adopt creative means — including shared accounts or VPNs — to evade age checks.
Meanwhile, not all teens are trying to circumvent the rules.
Some accept the restrictions, while others express frustration — including a 15-year-old involved in a legal challenge to the law.
That teenager warned the ban will “isolate” youths now more than ever, pressing that parents, not the government, should decide social-media use.
The case remains pending in the High Court.
As December 10 approaches, the unfolding attempts to dodge the ban are already testing the resolve of regulators, the compliance systems of major platforms, and the policy’s stated goal of better protecting under-16s from online harms.
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