Australia Boosts Under-16 Social Media Ban Penalty to A$99M

Australia will increase the maximum penalty for social media companies that fail to keep children under 16 off their platforms to A$99 million ($68 million), the government said in a statement. The proposed legislation also gives the eSafety Commissioner new powers to compel companies to provide evidence of the steps they have taken to enforce the age cap.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said big tech companies are not doing enough. “It’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law – there are still too many children on social media,” he said.

The regulator is already investigating potential breaches at Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, the government said.

More than 5 million accounts have been deactivated since the ban took effect in December. A University of Newcastle observational study of more than 400 adolescents found that over 85% of participants under 16 reported using social media during the three months after the ban. The gap between account removals and actual usage is the problem the new enforcement measures aim to close.

Australia’s rules have prompted similar proposals elsewhere. More than two dozen countries, including Indonesia and Brazil, are considering or moving toward restrictions of their own, the government said. Canada and the UK have also advanced bans. The UK this month proposed banning under-16s from using social media, with legislation expected before Christmas.

For Meta, the higher penalty and stronger regulator powers raise the cost of non-compliance. The eSafety Commissioner can now demand internal data on how the company enforces the age cap. Meta carries an Alpha Score of 52 out of 100, reflecting the mixed outlook as enforcement risk rises.

The next compliance report from the eSafety Commissioner will show whether the increased pressure changes the numbers.