Report finds age-assurance rules did not reduce underage access to social media

# What the report says

# Core findings The report highlights several concrete trends:

• Persistent underage account access: Many primary-school-aged children still use 13+ social apps despite the new rules.
• Rise in generative AI use: Young people are increasingly using AI tools and chatbots.
• Growing exposure to harmful material: Children report higher encounters with scams, bad or false information and pornography.
• Unequal reach of protective behaviours: Collective actions by parents to delay phones and social accounts are having an effect, but these practices are not consistent across communities. Children attending DEIS schools (a designation for disadvantaged communities) report higher rates of risky behaviours and harm.

# What commentators said Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids, argued that the focus on whether to ban under-16s misses the point: the laws meant to protect children are not being enforced. She said platforms know the real age of many users and could implement age verification to prevent underage access. Cooney also raised specific concern that children continue to access pornography and that platforms are distributing such content to underage users more frequently.

Nicola Flannery, partner for digital trust and privacy at Deloitte Ireland, said regulation such as Ireland's Online Safety Code and the EU Digital Services Act raises the baseline but cannot solve the problem alone. She called for regulators to close gaps, platforms to build safety into design, schools to teach digital literacy and parents to remain engaged.

Mick Moran, CEO of the Irish Internet Hotline, described an ecosystem where an eight-year-old can access adult material as "very worrying." Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú criticised the slowness of enforcement, noting that while harm occurs immediately, regulatory probes can take months or years.

# Practical implications If platforms do not implement robust age verification and safety-by-design measures, legal obligations will have limited effect. The report suggests that:

• Enforcement must be faster and more targeted to have immediate protective value.
• Age verification systems need clearer standards and adoption across services to close loopholes.
• Efforts to delay device ownership and social accounts must be supported in communities where they are less common, or disparities will widen.
• Schools should scale up digital literacy and safety education, especially in disadvantaged areas.

# Short checklist for parents, schools and policymakers

• Schools: Integrate practical digital-literacy lessons that address misinformation, scams and AI use.
• Regulators/policymakers: Speed up enforcement actions and set clear technical standards for age assurance and safety-by-design.
• Platforms: Adopt consistent age-verification methods, monitor delivery of adult content to minors, and provide child-friendly alternatives.

# What to watch next Look for updates on enforcement actions under Ireland's Online Safety Code and the EU Digital Services Act, any changes to platform age-verification practices, and follow-up studies showing whether targeted interventions reduce exposure to scams, pornography and misinformation among younger children.