Sixty per cent of children in Australia circumvent the social media ban.

Omissions

• The 60% figure comes from a single research study by the Molly Rose Foundation, an online safety advocacy NGO, not from an official government statistical body such as the eSafety Commissioner or the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• The study specifically covers 12-to-15-year-olds, not all children. Younger children (under 12) and the full under-16 cohort may have different circumvention rates.
• A later academic study reported by The Guardian on 24 June 2026 (after the session date) found that 'four in five' (80%) under-16s were still using social media, suggesting the true circumvention rate may be significantly higher than 60%.
• The eSafety Commissioner reported in January 2026 that 4.7 million under-16 accounts had been removed by mid-December 2025, but did not publish a circumvention rate, making independent verification of the 60% figure difficult at the time of the claim.

Sources

• PrimaryeSafety Commissioner (Australian Government)16 January 2026: eSafety reports that age-restricted platforms removed access to 4.7 million under-16 accounts across Australia by mid-December 2025. No circumvention rate was published by the regulator.
• SecondaryMolly Rose FoundationMore than 60% of Australian children still using social media despite ban for under-16s. The research found that 61% of 12-15 year-olds in Australia who had accounts on restricted platforms before the ban still have access to social media accounts.
• SecondaryITV NewsResearch by the Molly Rose Foundation revealed that 61% of 12-15 year-olds in Australia still have access to social media accounts that should be restricted under the new under-16s ban.