Australia Moves to Strengthen Under-16 Social Media Ban Amid Enforcement Concerns

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced new legislation to bolster the country’s existing ban on social media accounts for children under the age of 16. The move comes in response to reports of poor compliance by major technology firms and data suggesting that a vast majority of underage users remain active on these platforms. By increasing penalties and expanding regulatory powers, the government aims to force platforms to take greater responsibility for age verification and user safety.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that while the current ban has resulted in the deletion of over five million accounts, big tech companies are failing to meet their legal obligations. To address this, the proposed legislation will double existing fines and grant the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, enhanced powers to compel platform compliance. Under the current framework, social media companies—rather than parents or children—carry the legal burden to implement reasonable steps to exclude under-16s, with potential penalties reaching up to $49.5 million Australian dollars ($34 million USD). The government also plans to require platforms to file monthly reports detailing the removal of underage accounts.

The push for stricter enforcement is supported by a University of Newcastle study published in The BMJ, which found that over 85 percent of surveyed Australian participants under 16 continued using social media three months after the ban took effect. The research, which surveyed 408 adolescents aged 12 to 17, indicated that most underage users bypassed restrictions using their own accounts, often encountering easily circumvented age-verification checks such as self-declarations or selfies. The eSafety Commissioner previously noted in April that platforms were showing poor compliance practices, such as allowing minors to repeatedly retry age-assurance tests and failing to stop new account creation.

The Australian government is currently defending its stance against a High Court challenge from Reddit, which argues the law is overbroad and infringes on privacy and free expression. Additionally, Amnesty International has criticized the measure as an ineffective quick fix that may drive youth activity underground without addressing platform design. Australia's regulatory trajectory mirrors developments in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signaled plans for an under-16 social media ban by spring 2025 that could include even stricter limits on live streaming and contact from strangers.