Australia’s teen social media ban is a flop. But there’s no joy in ‘I told you so’

The Australian government’s teen social media ban ‘chose to prioritise a course of action that ignored experts, created new risks and, predictably, isn’t working’, writes Samantha Floreani. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

This week, it was revealed that despite the Australian government’s world-first teen social media ban, around seven in 10 children remain on major platforms. What’s more, the eSafety report also shows that there has been no notable change in cyberbullying or image-based abuse reported by children.

For a policy that was touted as the solution to keeping kids safe from harm online, this is a damning indictment of the ban’s effectiveness.