Overview
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the law a day after it took effect, as the government said roughly 200,000 TikTok accounts had already been deactivated.
- Regulator eSafety ordered TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and others to disclose counts of under‑16 accounts before and after the ban within two weeks and to file monthly reports for six months.
- Australian feeds filled with posts from users claiming to be under 16 or still online, Google searches for VPNs hit a multi‑year high, and non‑covered apps climbed download charts as officials called the platform list dynamic.
- Creators reported sharp drops in reach and followers following the cutoff, with TikTok comedian Josh Partington citing sub‑10,000 views on new posts and a loss of 1,500 Instagram followers.
- Unicef and media scholars warned a ban alone will not fix platform design or moderation shortcomings, while a German Postbank study found teen use of major platforms falling and widespread concerns about addiction and toxic content.