Eighty percent of kids under 13 bypass platform age restrictions to use social media, new report finds

A new study by Australia’s eSafety Commission found 80% of kids under 13 are regularly bypassing the age restriction policies on social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.

The study found that more than half of the 8 to 12-year-olds surveyed said they had accessed social media through a parent or caregiver’s account, with just 5% reporting they used a sibling’s or friend's account.

More than a third of those children reported having their own account (usually set up with a parent’s help), while 27% of them said they used social media without having any account.

What’s more, although most social media companies do not allow children under 13 to access their platforms, the study found that in 2024, only 13% of kids with active accounts had their accounts shut down because they were under the age limit.

The eSafety Commission, which surveyed 1,504 kids aged 8 to 15 years living in Australia this past September, said the study was designed to shed light on children’s social media use before the nation’s landmark ‘under 16’ social media ban is set to take place at the end of 2025.

The Online Safety Amendment bill, passed by Australia’s government in November with support from 77% of the public, will ban those younger than 16 years of age from creating social media accounts.

The online safety watchdog's “Behind the Screen” report reveals where steps are being taken, what is possible now, and where there are gaps and inconsistencies, the Commission said.

More key findings

According to the transparency report, 95% of kids under the age of 16 had used at least one of the eight social media platforms the study focused on: Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and Discord.

Furthermore, 80% of those kids were reported to be 8 to 12 years old, with the most popular sites among that age range reported as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.

The eight platforms were then asked to provide information on their age restriction policies and how they are implemented for the study.

The report showed that although all the services (except Reddit) require users to input a date of birth when creating an account, all the platforms were said to rely solely on “truthful self-declaration” – commonly referred to as an "age gate" – with no other age assurance tools.

There is clear evidence that children under 13 are getting around this barrier by providing a false date of birth, the study noted.

Of those listed, YouTube is the only social media platform that allows children to use Family Link, which enables them to use the service under a parent’s account.

“What was once a fledgling concern has now evolved into one of the most pressing regulatory and societal challenges of our time – and an issue that dozens of countries across the globe are seeking to address,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in the report’s foreword.

"There is still significant work to be done by any social media platforms relying on truthful self-declaration to determine age with enforcement of the government's minimum age legislation on the horizon," she said.

Interestingly, some of the services, such as TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat, and YouTube used tools to proactively detect users under 13.

• TikTok, Twitch, and Snapchat use proactive language analysis technology.
• YouTube uses classifiers on channels.
• TikTok applies AI and facial age estimation via age inference models.
• Twitch also uses audio, behavioral, and traffic analysis tools.

If a platform suspects a user is under 13, Twitch, Snapchat, Reddit, and Discord will immediately terminate or ban that user's account. TikTok, which responded to the report stating it has removed more than 1 million underage accounts in Australia since 2023, subjects a user’s account to a manual (human) review.

For Instagram and Facebook, Meta’s process was a bit more convoluted. It included first sending the user a generic error message if an 'under 13' birthdate was input, and then, if multiple attempts, preventing the user from trying to create an account for 12 hours. Additionally, in certain circumstances, Meta will use a Yoti (Facial Age Estimation AI) to assess the user's age or require ID age verification and, at times, refer the account to a human reviewer. Meta

A spokesperson for Meta told Reuters the company supports age-appropriate experiences for children online, but it should be the responsibility of app stores to enforce age restrictions.

In the end, the report concluded that platform improvements such as “proactive detection, simplified user reporting, and robust re-registration controls for banned underage users, along with additional friction at the point of account sign-up, can provide important interventions.”

“It would send a clear message that the online industry is not only aware of its responsibilities but actively committed to safeguarding young users,” it said.