Australia is moving to increase the level of pressure on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, after criticism of the ban imposed on those under 16 having accounts on these platforms.
Communications Minister Annika Wells said on Monday that the need to tighten the laws is due to the platforms’ resistance to age restrictions, considering that everyone wants the system to work better, but that depends on the major technology companies taking it seriously.
The government announced that this week it will present a draft law in Parliament that raises the maximum fines to 99 million Australian dollars, or about 68 million dollars, against platforms that do not take reasonable steps to prevent children from owning accounts.
According to a government statement, the amendments give Electronic Safety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant broader powers to request information and documents, including data from third parties working in age verification technologies, to test what platforms say about those under 16 circumventing the ban.
For her part, opposition MP Jane Hume said that her party would consider supporting reforms, considering that “banning social media was not effective” because the law did not give the Electronic Safety Commissioner sufficient powers to prosecute major technology companies.
Parliament passed the initial legislation with broad support in 2024, giving the platforms more than 12 months to prepare for the ban, which came into effect on December 10.
Although the government initially announced that it had deleted, disabled, or restricted more than 5 million children’s accounts, data in March showed that 7 out of 10 children who had accounts on platforms subject to the ban were still using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Wales said that the monthly updates since March have not shown any improvement, stressing that the new amendments aim to give the Electronic Safety Commissioner the necessary tools to hold platforms accountable.
