In a growing trend, France and Australia have implemented restrictions on minors’ social media access, with France initially banning children under 15 from major platforms—a move later halted by its highest court on human rights grounds. The UK plans to follow suit in early 2027, targeting users under 16 on platforms like Facebook and TikTok, while the EU has proposed a similar ban for those under 15, reflecting a broader global shift toward limiting young users’ online engagement.
A study published earlier this year found that four in five teens under 16 made their way onto barred platforms, using tactics such as using a sibling’s face for ID or drawing fake facial hair to bypass bans. This fact shows the limitations of social media bans, which can suppress kids’ access to essential information and push them toward less-moderated, higher-risk corners of the web.
Age Restrictions and Their Limitations
Proponents of bans have called for increased focus on enforcement to block workarounds, but this approach ignores the fact that kids are actively looking for ways to outwit the bans. This fact signals that the bans are not effective and may even backfire, harming kids by forcing them to submit sensitive personal information to prove their age.
Closing loopholes in age gates could also degrade privacy and security for everyone, as companies may automatically track users’ online activities to confirm their age, profiling them and increasing the risk of data misuse or leaks. Furthermore, requiring personal documents like driver’s licenses to verify age can lead to mishandling of sensitive documents or even identity theft.
Some parents want smarter policies that protect children, families, and their rights, such as mandating stronger limits on data collection by companies or giving families flexible tools to control content and access on their own terms. In fact, when parents don’t help provide access and kids are not able to get into the platforms they desire, they will likely move toward alternative online spaces, often ones with fewer guardrails.
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The Risks of Age Gates
This can leave them vulnerable to abuse and predation, as outdated, dying, and under-resourced platforms tend to attract both vulnerable youth and those who prey on them.
Efforts to make it harder for kids to get around age gates have also led policymakers to clamp down on kids’ access to VPNs, which can put many users, particularly journalists and human rights defenders working on sensitive issues, in danger of government surveillance and even retaliation. For instance, state age verification bills in Michigan and Utah have tried to interfere with the privacy protections offered by these tools.
As policymakers consider how to address the issue of kids’ access to social media, they should focus on the incentives that drive companies to engage in behavior that creates risks for kids in the first place, such as limiting the collection and use of data that companies use to target content and features to all users, including children. This approach could help to create a safer and more responsible online environment for kids, rather than relying on age gates that can be easily circumvented.
By providing user-controlled tools, such as keyword-based content filtering, families can have easy, flexible, and user-friendly ways to limit access to undesirable content. This can enable a student who is targeted with a specific nickname or inside joke to block any post or comment containing it, putting power back in users’ hands and allowing them to make informed decisions about their online activities.
