Australia is set to double potential fines for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram that fail to prevent underage children from holding accounts. Communications Minister Anika Wells announced Sunday that draft legislation would be introduced this week, proposing to increase the maximum fine for non-compliance to 99 million Australian dollars (approximately $68 million).
Wells attributed the need for stricter measures to the platforms' resistance to enforcing age restrictions, which came into effect on December 10. She stated that the current scheme is not working as intended due to "Big Tech taking the Mickey," using an Australian idiom for deception or mockery.
The proposed amendments would also grant Australia's online safety watchdog, the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, enhanced powers to request information and documents from platforms. These new authorities would include obtaining data from third parties, such as age assurance technology providers, to verify claims about how individuals under 16 are circumventing the ban.
Senior opposition lawmaker Jane Hume indicated that her party would consider supporting the reforms, agreeing that the social media ban has been ineffective due to deficiencies in the original legislation and insufficient powers for the eSafety Commissioner.
The initial legislation, passed with broad parliamentary support in 2024, gave platforms over a year to prepare for the ban on accounts for those under 16. While the government initially reported that more than 5 million child accounts were removed, deactivated, or restricted after the law took effect, a March report by the eSafety Commissioner revealed that seven in 10 children who had accounts on restricted platforms on December 10 remained active on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
In April, Inman Grant had stated she was considering legal action against these platforms, as well as YouTube, for allegedly failing to take reasonable steps to exclude minors. She noted satisfaction with the progress made by X, Kick, Reddit, Threads, and Twitch.
Minister Wells reported receiving monthly updates from eSafety since March and observed no significant improvements. "These (draft) changes ensure that the eSafety Commissioner has the tools and powers she needs to hold platforms to account and we’re making sure that she can do just that," Wells said.