Teens hoping to get around Australia’s social media ban are rushing to smaller apps. Where are they going?

Lemon8 is among the platforms seeing an influx of under-16s before the Australian social media ban deadline. One expert says it is inevitable that children will find a way ‘to get around it’. Photograph: AAP

As Australia prepares to block under-16s from accessing 10 of its largest social media platforms, less prominent companies have begun courting the teen market – in some cases paying underaged influencers to promote them.

One teenaged TikTok influencer said in a paid “collab” video for the app Coverstar: “The social media ban is fast approaching, but I found the new cool app we can all move to.”