More than 1,500 Australians in the past two and half years have complained to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman about digital platforms, with a third complaining about wrongful account terminations.

But the TIO – which is responsible for complaints about mobile phone service, land lines and internet services – has no powers to do anything about it.

TIO’s report, released on Wednesday, comes before Australia’s social media ban, which will see teens under 16 banned from about 12 social media platforms from 10 December. The federal government has set out that the platforms must have quick appeals processes in place for people who have been wrongly assessed as being under 16 to regain access to their accounts. Instagram’s age-verification identified a moustachioed adult as over 16

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