Australia announced on Saturday it would double the maximum fine it can impose on technology companies that fail to enforce a social media ban for children, amid growing evidence the measure has had limited impact on teenage usage.
The government will also expand the data collection powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, enabling it to require social media firms to demonstrate steps taken to prevent under-16s from creating accounts.
Under the revisions, the top penalty for repeated failures to apply the ban rises to A$99 million from A$49.5 million.
Officials confirmed that eSafety is examining possible violations by five platforms: Instagram and Facebook from Meta, YouTube from Google, Snapchat from Snap, and TikTok.
Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok offered no immediate comment outside normal business hours.
The six-month-old restriction is being monitored by other countries considering similar rules due to worries over social media effects on young people’s mental and physical health. Britain recently proposed broader limits that would cover gaming and live-streaming services as well.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that while global discussion has advanced since the minimum age rule was introduced, major technology firms are still not complying adequately, leaving too many children active on these platforms.
The government noted that more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been deactivated or limited since the ban began.
However, multiple studies indicate that age-verification methods such as selfies are frequently bypassed by minors, and many users were never asked to confirm their age.
Sydney residents expressed doubt that higher penalties would change platform behaviour given the revenue generated from user engagement.
A British Medical Journal study of 408 adolescents found that 85 percent of Australians aged 12 to 15 continued using social media three months after the ban started, often by declaring an older age or submitting an accepted selfie.
An industry group has attributed enforcement difficulties to weak use of available age-check tools rather than technological shortcomings.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said regular updates from the regulator show platforms are applying minimal effort to meet requirements.
The planned legal updates will also let the regulator obtain information from third parties such as age-verification providers and app stores to verify company claims.
A prime ministerial spokesperson said the timing for presenting the amendments to parliament remains undecided.
Reddit is separately contesting the ban in Australia’s highest court on free speech grounds, while the government has pledged to defend the law.
