Australia is doubling fines for tech outfits after its under-16 social media ban proved leakier than a sieve.
Canberra said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty for tech firms that fail to uphold its ground-breaking social media ban for children.
The move comes as evidence mounts that the ban has done little to stop teens using the platforms. The government will strengthen the information-gathering powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner.
That will let the watchdog compel social media companies to provide evidence of what they have done to stop under-16s getting an account.
Under the changes, the maximum penalty for systematic failures to uphold the ban jumps to A$99 million, about €59.7 million, from A$49.5 million, about €29.9 million. The government repeated that eSafety is actively investigating possible non-compliance at five platforms.
These are Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Google’s YouTube, Snap’s Snapchat and TikTok.
Australia’s six-month-old ban is being watched closely by countries worried about the effect of social media on young people’s mental and physical health. Britain said this month it planned tougher restrictions, with gaming and live-streaming platforms dragged into the net.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “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 is not doing enough to comply with the law; there are still too many children on social media.”
The statement said more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been deactivated or restricted since the ban took effect.
Numerous studies have shown that age-assurance mechanisms, such as selfies, can be dodged by children with little effort. In many cases, children have never been asked to prove their age.
A British Medical Journal study published on Wednesday examined 408 adolescents and found that 85 per cent of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect. Two-thirds of underage users stayed online by self-declaring an age more than 16 or posting a selfie that the platform accepted as more than 16.
In April, an industry body representing tech suppliers blamed enforcement problems on social media platforms’ weak use of available age-checking tools, rather than the technology itself.
Minister for Communications Anika Wells said: “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.”
Planned updates to the law will let the regulator demand information from social media platforms and third parties.
Those third parties could include age-assurance providers or app store operators, who may help test the platforms’ claims.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said the timing for introducing the amendments to parliament had not yet been decided.
Message board outfit Reddit is separately challenging the ban in Australia’s highest court, seeking to overturn it on free speech grounds. The government has said it will defend the lawsuit.
