No 'Meaningful' Shift From Social Media Sites After Australia Teen Ban: Govt Report

Steven Trask Sydney: There was "no meaningful shift" away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia's world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.

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Australia in December banned under 16s from a raft of popular social media platforms, launching a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms".

There is strong global interest in whether Australia's laws could provide a blueprint for how to rein-in increasingly powerful tech giants.

Government documents obtained by AFP using freedom of information laws give an early glimpse into how the restrictions are working.

They showed that platforms such as Instagram and TikTok were still "dominating app store rankings and downloads" one month on from the ban.

Data compiled throughout January showed "no meaningful shift away" from these platforms, noted an internal briefing from Australia's eSafety Commission.

Users dabbled with other apps not covered by the ban but "largely returned to major, established platforms", officials wrote in the briefing dated February 2.

A separate document cautioned it was hard to draw firm conclusions from app download data so soon after the ban.

"Limitations of this data are that it does not reflect usage of an app or the age of the user, however it gives early indicators if an app is rising in popularity."

One of the chief concerns driving Australia's social media ban was the desire to stamp out cyberbullying.

Complaints of cyberbullying on banned social media platforms increased 26 percent when comparing January 2026 with January 2025, the documents said.

Complaints had largely stemmed from TikTok.

A spokeswoman for the eSafety Commission -- Australia's online watchdog -- said the documents only covered a short period of time as the laws were bedding down.

"Continued analysis as more data becomes available will support more robust, evidence-based conclusions regarding longer-term trends, reporting behaviours and impacts of (a minimum age for social media)," the commission told AFP in a statement.

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