Key Takeaways:
Australia's year-old social media ban for children under 16 has failed to curb teen usage, with 7 in 10 underage children still holding accounts on major platforms.
The Australian government said Saturday it would double the maximum penalty for tech firms that fail to remove underage accounts, raising the cap to 99 million Australian dollars ($68 million) as evidence mounts that the world's first youth social media ban has had little effect on teen use.
"The government is asking whether the laws are as strong as possible," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday, adding that officials are reviewing whether eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the nation's online safety watchdog, has "every power at her disposal."
The ban, which took effect Dec. 10, 2025, prohibits children younger than 16 from holding accounts on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch. Companies that fail to take "reasonable steps" to remove underage accounts now face fines of up to A$99 million, up from the original A$49.5 million ($34 million) penalty introduced when the law passed in late 2024.
The escalation comes as data shows the ban has largely failed to achieve its stated goal. E Safety's own data released in March showed 7 in 10 underage children continued to hold accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok since December. A study published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday found 85% of a group of Australian 12- to 17-year-olds were using restricted platforms.
"I do think it's failing," said Lisa Given, an information sciences expert at Melbourne's RMIT University. "Many kids in the media have reported that they also think that this is really a failed exercise."
Inman Grant said in April she was considering court action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, alleging they were not doing enough to keep young children off their platforms. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Inman Grant saying in an early June interview: "I don't have potent powers."
"Either the eSafety Commissioner needs more powers or we've got to have some other approach to enforcement," Given said, adding that courts would likely need to decide what constitutes "reasonable steps" under the law.
Albanese said his government would proceed with digital duty of care legislation that would hold platforms accountable for foreseeable harms caused by content and algorithms, as part of broader efforts to enforce the social media ban.
Australia's move is being closely watched by other nations pursuing similar restrictions. Britain announced plans last week to ban children under 16 from a range of platforms to protect them from harmful content and excessive screen time. Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions for children's social media access. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among others studying or developing similar approaches.
The doubling of penalties signals that enforcement — not just legislation — will be the defining challenge for governments seeking to regulate children's social media access. For major platforms including Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok and Snap Inc., the Australian crackdown adds compliance costs and legal risks in a market of 27 million people, while potentially setting a precedent for larger jurisdictions weighing similar measures.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
