‘Not doing enough’: tougher social ban law for big tech
Big tech companies have been accused of failing to enforce Australia’s social media ban on children, as the federal government prepares legislation to strengthen existing restrictions.
Under the changes, social media companies could be fined almost $99 million for failing to enforce the national ban on under-16s; That’s twice the previous maximum penalty.
Tech platforms will also be forced to disclose their activities to prevent children and young people from accessing accounts as part of the expected strengthening of regulatory powers.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said social media giants must do more to protect young people from dangerous content online.
“We’re going to do more because the big tech companies aren’t doing enough,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“We recognize that the future and safety of our children is too important to let big tech companies off the hook or evade their responsibilities.”
No penalties were imposed on technology companies for non-compliance with the existing sanctions regime.
Frontbencher Murray Watt said there would always be a need for tweaks, given Australia was the first country in the world to try such a ban.
“These laws were brand new, they had not been developed anywhere in the world, and we learned that the eSafety Commissioner’s powers needed to be strengthened,” he told Sky News.
Senator Watt pointed to moves by other countries, including the UK, Canada, France and Greece, to follow Australia’s lead and ban children from social media as evidence that age restrictions work.
But opposition education spokesman Julian Leeser said it was clear Labor had “fumbled” on the coalition-backed ban.
“It’s clear there were people breaking the social media ban… (and) big tech didn’t take it seriously enough,” he said.
In late 2025, for the first time in the world, Australia banned children under 16 from having accounts on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, Facebook and YouTube.
Although the government says more than five million social media accounts have been deleted, research shows that children easily evade age verification and other restrictions imposed by the platforms.
According to the latest research led by Newcastle University, 85 per cent of children under 16 reported using social media after the ban came into force.
The rules require social media companies to take reasonable steps to prevent underage users from having accounts.
Under changes proposed by the federal government, the eSafety Commissioner will be able to require social platforms to provide evidence that they have taken steps to prevent anyone under 16 from creating accounts.
The independent regulator’s new powers will also cover information held by third parties, such as age assurance and app store providers.
The age ban was challenged in separate lawsuits filed by a pair of teenagers backed by tech companies Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project.
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