Social media firms urge caution on early Australia under-16 ban data

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant ​told the inquiry the March data suggested platforms were "failing to prevent the creation and recreation of accounts" but insisted the ban was showing early signs of working, citing a modest decline in numbers of underage accounts."It is a point in time, it's very early on, and we caution against over-reliance on that," YouTube's head of government relations Rachel Lord told the inquiry, noting the government's latest published compliance data was from March.

Top social media platforms urged the Australian government not to place too much weight on early evidence showing that most children still use their products despite a landmark under-16 ban, as lawmakers consider tougher penalties and greater investigative powers for regulators.