The Australian government has defended its world-first ban on social media for children under 16, despite new figures showing that most teenagers remain active on social platforms.
The country's internet regulator, eSafety, found that more than four in five Australian teenagers were still using social media three months after the restrictions came into force.
The figures highlight the difficulty of enforcing a policy aimed at limiting children's access to platforms that have become deeply embedded in everyday life.
Australia introduced the ban in December, citing concerns about the potential impact of social media on children's mental and physical health. The policy has attracted international attention and criticism from major technology companies, many of them based in the US.
Andrew Leigh, the assistant minister for productivity, competition, charities and Treasury, said the restrictions had nevertheless changed the national conversation about children's online safety.
"It has been an important game changer in the conversation among parents," Mr Leigh said, according to an official transcript of televised remarks.
He said millions of accounts had been closed since the restrictions were introduced.
Mr Leigh acknowledged that the government had never expected complete compliance.
"We never expected that this would have 100% compliance," he said, comparing the policy with laws setting minimum drinking ages.
"But it's still appropriate that we have that law on the books."
However, the latest eSafety research presents a more challenging picture.
It found that children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media at broadly the same frequency in March as they had been before the ban took effect on 10 December.
The study also found that parents were less aware of their children's online activity than previously.
The findings are broadly consistent with data published by eSafety in March.
The government has since proposed tougher enforcement measures, including doubling the maximum penalty that the regulator can impose on technology companies that fail to comply with the restrictions.
Australia's approach is being closely watched by other countries considering measures to limit children's access to social media, with the effectiveness of enforcement likely to be a key test of the policy. Photo by Jason Howie, Wikimedia commons.
