Despite new regulations, some 70% of children aged 8-12 still have social media accounts

THERE HAS BEEN no reduction in underage children’s access to social media platforms, despite legal obligations which came into effect last July designed to prevent this, according to a new report. 

The report, entitled ‘The Year Little Changed’, was published by CyberSafe Kids this morning. It surveyed over 7,000 children in the academic year 2025-26. 

It found that 70% of children aged between 8-12 still have their own accounts on social media apps that are designated for children aged 13 or over - a figure that is almost unchanged from the level recorded in July 2025. 

Some 63% of those aged 8-12 still have access to YouTube, up from 60% the previous year, while 21% said they still had a Snapchat account, down from 25%. The number using TikTok also fell from 23% to 20%. 

The authors said this suggests that neither the Digital Services Act nor Ireland’s Online Safety Code “is yet to have any measurable effect on underage access”. 

They also said that age assurance measures put in place on these platforms “are not functioning as intended”. 

“After a raft of new legislation in Ireland and at EU level in 2025, we had real expectations of change but this report shows those expectations haven’t been met,” CyberSafe Kids chief executive Alex Cooney said.

She said the debate around banning under-16s from social media “is missing the point”. 

We’re arguing over whether to lock the door while the laws already meant to protect children inside go unenforced. We have to do better.

Social media sites use a mixture of measures to detect underage users, such as self-declared age, behavioural or content analysis and user reports. Once detected, the accounts should be closed, or restricted accordingly.

The report states that self-declared age “clearly does not work as a barrier to access”. In a focus group CyberSafe Kids conducted with 9-12-year-olds, the children said they did not calculate an older date of birth, but simply scrolled back far enough in years to make sure they are not excluded on the basis of their age.

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Rise in exposure to sexual content

Some 68% of 8–12-year-olds are using Roblox, making it the most popular platform for younger children for the second year in a row. Of children who reported negative experiences, 58% named Roblox as the place where these happened. 

The report found that 99% of children aged 12-15 use social media apps. WhatsApp remains the most popular app for this age group (85%), followed by YouTube (80%), Snapchat (78%), TikTok (72%) and Instagram (48%). 

The report also found that roughly a quarter of 8–15-year-olds reported being “bothered” by some form of contact or content online, another figure unchanged since last year. 

Of the children who reported negative experiences, there has been a significant increase in exposure to scams, bad or fake information this year.

The number of 12-15-year-olds coming across sexual content online has also dramatically increased from 10% last year to 24% this year. The vast majority of this content was pushed to them (22%), and not sought out (2%).

Boys (27%) are significantly more likely to have been exposed than girls (19%).

The report also found “explosive growth” in generative AI use this year, with 55% of 8–12-year-olds and 76% of 12–15-year-olds in Ireland now using AI. “highlighting the urgent need to address safety now and not repeat the mistakes made previously with social media”.

It said that use by 12–15-year-olds is more likely to be task oriented: 75% look up information and 27% use it for schoolwork. Children aged 8–12 engage more for entertainment and experimentation: 47% ask fun or random questions.

Nicola Flannery, Partner, Digital Trust & Privacy, Deloitte Ireland LLP, said the report shows that children are navigating digital environments that were never designed with their developmental needs.

“Ireland’s Online Safety Code and EU Digital Services Act have raised the floor, but this report shows us regulation alone was never going to be enough,” she said.

“But, this is solvable. It requires regulators to close the gaps this report identifies, the platforms to build in safety by design from the outset, schools to embed digital literacy into curricula, and parents to stay engaged.”