SYDNEY, June 27 - The Australian government said on Saturday it will boost penalties and investigative powers tied to its recently enacted under-16 social media ban, responding to mounting evidence that many minors continue to access platforms despite the law.
Under the announced changes, the top fine for systematic breaches of the minimum-age requirement will increase to A$99 million from A$49.5 million. At the same time, regulators will gain strengthened authority to demand evidence from social media companies about the steps they have taken to prevent under-16s from creating accounts.
The government confirmed that Australia’s internet safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, is actively probing potential non-compliance by five platforms: Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Google’s YouTube, Snap’s Snapchat and TikTok. The announcement reiterated that the regulator will be able to compel companies to produce documentation showing how they seek to enforce the ban.
Authorities framed the move as a response to what they described as insufficient action by large technology firms since the ban took effect six months ago. The government said that more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been deactivated or restricted since the law was introduced, but officials and researchers have reported that large numbers of teens still access social media.
A study published this week in the British Medical Journal, covering a sample of 408 adolescents, found that 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the law came into force. The report said roughly two-thirds of those underage users remained online by either self-declaring an age over 16 or posting a selfie that the platform accepted as indicating they were older than 16.
Government ministers and regulators have raised concerns about the reliability of current age-assurance measures. While platforms have implemented various mechanisms - including selfie checks - research and enforcement reviews indicate these methods are often easily bypassed or not consistently applied. An industry group representing tech suppliers attributed enforcement difficulties to platforms underutilising available tools for age verification rather than inherent technological limits.
Minister for Communications Anika Wells said the government receives regular updates from the eSafety Commissioner and that those updates suggest platforms are using superficial tactics to meet legal requirements rather than taking robust compliance steps. "Based on the regular updates I receive from the eSafety Commissioner, it is clear to me that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight out of the big tech playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by," the minister said in a government statement.
In addition to compelling information from social media companies themselves, the changes will allow the regulator to seek evidence from third parties such as providers of age-assurance services and app store operators. Officials said this authority will help the regulator test claims made by platforms about how they verify user ages and enforce the ban.
The government noted that the timing for introducing the amendments to parliament has not yet been set and said it would provide further detail in the near future.
Separately, the message board site Reddit is pursuing a legal challenge to the ban in Australia’s highest court, asking for the law to be overturned on free speech grounds. The government has indicated it will defend the legislation in court.
As a point of reference for international readers, the government release included an exchange rate: $1 equals 1.4499 Australian dollars.
Context and enforcement focus
The policy package announced on Saturday ties expanded investigatory powers directly to higher statutory penalties for systematic breaches. The government framed the updates as necessary to ensure that the law achieves its stated goal of reducing social media exposure among under-16s, amid findings that many minors continue to access platforms by circumventing current age checks.
Officials intend the new powers to give the eSafety Commissioner the information needed to determine whether platforms are genuinely preventing under-16 account creation or simply relying on minimal, easily circumvented measures.
What remains unresolved
- The precise parliamentary timetable for the amendments has not been announced.
- It remains to be seen how effectively the strengthened powers will translate into improved compliance on platforms where age-assurance checks are reportedly inconsistent.
- The final outcome of Reddit’s high-court challenge to the ban is pending and could affect enforcement dynamics.