Australia Doubles Social Media Ban Fines As Teens Keep Finding Workarounds

Australia is tightening its under-16 social media ban after finding that major platforms are still failing to keep children off their services.

The government now plans to double maximum penalties and give its online safety regulator stronger powers to demand evidence from tech companies.
 

TL;DR

• Australia will double maximum penalties for repeated failures to enforce its under-16 social media ban to A$99 million ($68 million).
• The eSafety Commissioner will get stronger powers to demand evidence from platforms and third-party providers.
• A BMJ study found 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban began

Australia Says Big Tech Is Not Doing Enough To Enforce The Kids’ Social Media Ban

Australia’s six-month-old social media ban for children is entering a tougher phase, with the government preparing updates aimed directly at major tech platforms.

Under the proposed changes, the maximum penalty for systematic failures to uphold the ban will rise from A$49.5 million to A$99 million, which is about $68 million. The move follows growing evidence that age-assurance systems are not stopping under-16 users from accessing major platforms.

The government said the eSafety Commissioner is actively investigating possible non-compliance by five platforms, including Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Google’s YouTube, Snap’s Snapchat, and TikTok.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the global conversation around social media age limits has shifted, but platforms are still falling short.

"I'm heartened by the shift in conversation and the global momentum we’ve seen since introducing the social media minimum age, but it’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law, there are still too many children on social media," Albanese said in a statement.
 

Australia’s Regulator Will Get Stronger Powers To Question Social Media Platforms

The proposed legal update will also strengthen the eSafety Commissioner’s information-gathering powers. This would allow the regulator to compel social media companies to show what they have actually done to stop under-16s from creating or keeping accounts.

The update would also allow the regulator to seek information from third parties, including age-assurance providers and app store operators. That could help test whether platforms’ claims about compliance match how their systems are working in practice.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells accused platforms of doing the least required to pass scrutiny.

"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," Wells said.

The government has not yet confirmed when the amendments will be introduced to parliament, though a spokesperson for the prime minister said more details would follow soon.
 

Teens Are Still Getting Around Age Checks Despite Millions Of Account Restrictions

Australia said more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been deactivated or restricted since the ban took effect. Yet studies suggest many teens are still finding easy ways around age checks.

A British Medical Journal study of 408 adolescents found that 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban began. Two-thirds of underage users stayed online by self-declaring an age above 16 or submitting a selfie that platforms accepted as showing they were old enough.

The findings support broader concerns that checks such as selfies and self-declared ages remain too easy to bypass. In some cases, children reportedly were not asked to prove their age at all.

Public skepticism appears to be growing too. Sydney resident Penny Lilley questioned whether bigger fines would change platform behavior, given how much money companies make from user activity. Another Sydneysider, Zara Keats, said platforms "haven't really done as much as they said they were going to."
 

Australia’s Social Media Ban Faces Global Attention And Legal Pushback

Australia’s policy is being watched closely by other countries considering similar measures to protect children’s mental and physical health. Britain has already said it plans to go further by including gaming and live-streaming platforms in its restrictions.

However, Australia’s ban is also facing legal resistance. Reddit is separately challenging the law in Australia’s highest court on free speech grounds. The government has said it will defend the law.

For now, Australia’s message to social media companies is becoming sharper, fewer loopholes, stronger oversight, and much bigger financial consequences if platforms fail to keep underage users off their services.