Tech giants Facebook, TikTok and others to face $99 million fines as Labor doubles down with proposed new powers
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants had failed to properly enforce Australia’s social media age ban, prompting moves to double the fines they could face to $99 million and give the eSafety Commissioner stronger investigative powers.
The changes follow a candid interview on this imprint earlier this month; In this interview, commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she wasn’t “really keen” on a world-first social media ban and didn’t have “strong powers” to police the tech platforms she’s charged with reining in.
Australia’s groundbreaking social media ban on under-16s came into effect last December following a fierce backlash from hijacked tech platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. The government hailed the policy as a significant win, claiming that 5 million accounts had been removed, and the change spurred similar policies around the world.
However, claims that young people easily bypassed the ban and doubts about the accuracy of account removal data cast a shadow over the application.
“Six months on from our world-leading social media legislation, I am unhappy that tech companies are doing everything they can to keep under-16s off their platforms. Based on the regular updates I receive from the eSafety Commissioner, it is clear to me that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight from big tech’s playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by,” Albanese said in a statement. he said.
“In response, I’m ensuring the regulator has stronger tools to get the job done and doubling penalties for non-compliance. Social media platforms are some of the richest and most powerful companies in the world, and we’re serious about holding them to account.”
A date has not yet been set for the new legislation to come into force, which would give Inman Grant the power to force companies to provide “evidence of what they are doing to prevent under-16s from obtaining accounts”, including requests for information and documents from platforms.
Powers will also be granted to third parties such as age assurance firms and app store providers. Penalties for not complying with information collection notices will be doubled.
Inman Grant recently described the imposition of a social media ban as follows: “very blunt force approachhe said, saying the legislation was developed “too quickly” with only “a very thin scaffolding”.
He told this imprint that he “does not have powerful powers” and that “the editor is only as good as the tools and resources he is given.”
Fines for systematic violations of the ban will be increased from $49.5 million to $99 million. The previous fine had been criticized for its small-stick approach compared to the annual revenue of firms seized under the ban, which ranged from around US$6 billion ($8.7 billion) to US$200 billion ($290 billion).
“These tough new penalties and mandates show we will not back down. Instead, we are redoubling our efforts to hold big tech to account,” Albanese said.
In parliament on Thursday, Albanese delivered a lengthy rebuke to tech companies, saying young women were presenting to hospitals with injuries from extreme behavior and sexual violence normalized by social media algorithms.
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Nick Newling is the federal politics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
