FREEDOM ON THE NET 2026 Seismic Shifts on the Global Internet A notification from Snapchat prompting an age check because of Australia’s under-16 social media ban. Early surveys indicate that teens have evaded the ban at significant rates, sometimes by manipulating age-estimation and age-verification algorithms. (Photo: Hollie Adams via Reuters) age of users and prevent those under the age of 16 from creating or owning accounts; guidance from Australia’s eSafety commissioner set out a range of methods deemed to be reasonable steps. Australian officials designated 10 major social media platforms—including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok—as covered by that law, while several other companies voluntarily complied, such as major dating services. The law sets out privacy preservation and data minimization (collecting only what is deemed necessary data) as principles to guide the implementation of age-gating. Initial implementation of the law resulted in the mass deletion of accounts—around 5 million as of March 2026, according to the eSafety commissioner—though broader impacts on freedom of expression and access to information were not clear. Early surveys and news reports indicate that teens have evaded the ban at significant rates, sometimes by manipulating age-estimation and age-verification algorithms. Eighty-five percent of children under 16 surveyed in one early study reported that they continued to use social media platforms after the ban; some may have circumvented or supplied false information to age checks to retain access, as 8 @freedomhouse one-fifth of those surveyed reported submission of a face photo and one-tenth reported use of a government ID as part of an age-assurance process. Another study found over 60 percent of 14- and 15-year olds surveyed were still using social media, some 57 percent of whom said they manipulated ageverification checks to maintain access. Indonesian lawmakers passed and implemented an under16 social media ban in March 2026, applying to “high-risk” platforms. The government had previously passed an ageassurance framework that adopted a risk-categorization approach, requiring companies to assess whether their platforms had features deemed “high risk” for children, like contact with strangers or pornographic content. Indonesian officials stated that some 4.7 million accounts were deleted by June, 4.1 million deletions of which were reported by TikTok. Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities have significantly lagged in implementing the country’s data-protection law, and civil society organizations in the country raised concerns that the rapid implementation of age-assurance methods would expose children’s data, such as face or identification photos, to new risks. #FreedomOnTheNet