Australia defends social media ban as study shows most teens still online

SYDNEY- Australia's government mounted a defense on Saturday of its world-first ban on social media for children under 16, even as fresh data revealed the scale of the challenge confronting the landmark policy.

The defense came a day after the nation's internet regulator found that more than eight in ten Australian teenagers were still using social media three months after the restrictions took effect, underscoring the difficulty of policing a digital world woven into daily life.

Australia introduced the landmark ban in December on concerns about the impact of social media on the mental and physical health of children. The ban, being closely watched overseas, has drawn criticism ‌from social media companies, mostly based in the U.S.

Confronted with the regulator's findings, Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, argued the ban had already reshaped the national debate.

The ban has been "an important game changer in the conversation among parents," Leigh said in televised remarks, according to an official transcript.

"We've had millions of accounts shut down," Leigh said in televised remarks, according to an official transcript.

"We never expected that this would have 100% compliance. We don't get 100% compliance out of minimum drinking age laws, but it's still appropriate that we have that law on the books."

Yet the eSafety study painted a sobering picture. It found that children aged 10 to 15 were using social media just as frequently in March as they had before the ban came into force on Dec. 10, while parental awareness of their online habits had actually declined.

The findings broadly matched snapshot data eSafety published in March, three month before the centre-left Labor government unveiled plans for tougher enforcement, including doubling the ​maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms that fail to uphold the ban.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Reuters