The Australian government has declared its intention to increase the maximum fine for violations of the country’s law on the minimum age for social media to $99 million (£51.7 million).
Under the revised law, the eSafety Commissioner will have the authority to demand that social media companies present proof of the measures they have taken to adhere to the prohibition.
Since December 10, 2025, individuals under the age of 16 have been barred from accessing 10 major social media platforms in Australia. Despite this, it is widely recognized that many are still managing to use the prohibited apps.
Investigations have been initiated into the suspected non-compliance of five banned platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
Although the ban was introduced with much publicity late last year, enforcing it has proven to be challenging for the Australian government.
During a visit to a school in Sydney in February, the BBC found that most students who were using social media before the ban stated they still had access.
According to a report from the eSafety Commission, the country’s independent regulator, seven out of 10 children under 16 who had a social media account prior to the ban still had “some access.”
In a statement on Saturday, the government acknowledged these difficulties and indicated that the stricter penalties demonstrate their commitment to holding platforms that are not meeting the requirements accountable.
The government also mentioned that empowering the eSafety Commissioner, an independent regulator, would facilitate more efficient investigations and potential enforcement actions.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked, “I’m encouraged by the change in dialogue and the global traction we’ve observed since the introduction of the social media minimum age law, but it’s evident that major tech companies are not fully complying with the regulations.”
He further added, “There are still an excessive number of children on social media.”
This sentiment was shared by Anika Wells, Australia’s Minister for Communications, who expressed dissatisfaction with tech companies not exerting maximum effort to prevent children from accessing social media.
“It is apparent that social media platforms are employing tactics reminiscent of those used by major tech corporations and are only doing the minimum required to pass scrutiny,” she stated.
In the aftermath of Australia’s social media ban, several other countries have signaled their intention to implement similar measures, with the UK being one of them.
In June 2026, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to introduce a comparable ban for children under 16 in the UK, with the goal of enforcing it by spring 2027.
While a full list of affected platforms has yet to be disclosed, the government specified that it would encompass those platforms facilitating social interaction and content posting by users.
Additionally, an overnight curfew and measures to prevent endless scrolling for individuals under 18 are under consideration as part of the legislation.
