A study of over 400 young people aged 12–17 in Australia has found that more than 80% of under-16s were still using social media three months after the country’s ban came into force in December 2025, raising questions about the effectiveness of the UK’s own proposed ban due in 2027.

The University of Newcastle study, published in the BMJ, found minimal reduction in daily social media use, with inadequate age verification identified as a major factor, with checks largely consisting of asking teens their age or uploading a selfie rather than official ID.

Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, warned that unless ministers had a coherent plan to learn lessons, the UK ban would “similarly unravel,” leaving parents with “false hope and a misplaced sense of their children’s safety”.

England’s Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said a ban “should not be seen as a silver bullet,” calling for restrictions to extend across all online services using harmful features, not just social media.

The UK government said its approach would go further than Australia’s model with stronger age verification checks, and that the ban was as much about resetting social norms for future generations as protecting young people today