Teen social media laws lack evidence to show they work

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-09-11 01:00

Australia; International

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A review of global laws targeting social media use by teens, including Australia's social media ban, has found that there is limited evidence on whether they work, and a lack of research assessing their unintended consequences. The researchers say that, while there is observational evidence and expert opinion, timely evaluation of newly enacted legislation is needed.

News release

From: JAMA

Evidence for Social Media Legislation Strategies

In this review of legislative approaches to adolescent social media, observational and expert-opinion publications provided preliminary insights into potential benefits and risks, but systematic evidence evaluating the effectiveness and unintended consequences was limited. Rapid research, including timely evaluation of newly enacted legislation, is needed to assess the effects of different policy approaches and support the iterative, collaborative development of theory-driven, child-centered policies.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California, USA

Funder: This research was supported by grants K08HL159350 and R01DA064134 from the National Institutes of Health (Dr Nagata).

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