Australian minors have swiftly circumvented a new law banning social media platforms for children under 16 by employing simple yet effective tricks within minutes of the ban taking effect on December 10.
The amendment to Australia’s online safety legislation prohibits minors from using major platforms including Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Platforms risk fines exceeding $32 million if they fail to prevent underage accounts.
Within hours, teenagers reported bypassing age verification systems by subtly altering their facial expressions—most notably frowning at the camera.
Noah Jones, a 15-year-old from Sydney, used his brother’s ID card to rejoin Instagram after the app flagged him as too young. When Snapchat prompted him for age verification, he said: “I just looked at [the camera], frowned a little bit, and it said I was over 16.”
Zarla Macdonald, a 14-year-old in Queensland, noted that while she considered joining less-regulated platforms like Coverstar, the age-verification software mistakenly identified her as 20. “You have to show your face, turn it to the side, open your mouth,” she explained. “But it doesn’t really work.”
Some teens are also using stock images, makeup, masks, fake mustaches, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass restrictions.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that parents, teachers, and students support the ban for under-16s because it “gives kids more time to just be kids” without algorithms, endless feeds, and online harm. He emphasized the policy aims to provide children with a safer childhood and parents greater peace of mind.
Reddit has filed a lawsuit in Australia’s High Court seeking to overturn the ban, arguing it infringes on free political speech protected under the constitution.
The photograph accompanying Albanese’s statement featured a girl who expressed opposition to the law.
