Australia plans to double fines on social media firms failing to block under-16 users

Australia plans to double fines for social media companies that fail to block users under 16 while strengthening enforcement powers. The move follows a study showing that more than 85 per cent of underage users continued accessing restricted platforms despite the nationwide ban.

Canberra: The Australian government has announced that it will move to double the maximum fine for companies that fail to enforce the nation’s social media ban for children younger than 16.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Saturday night that technology companies are not “doing enough” to comply with the under-16 social media ban, Xinhua news agency reported.

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He said that the government will introduce legislation to the federal parliament that will increase the maximum fine for social media companies that fail to prevent under-16s from using their platforms from 49.5 million Australian dollars (34.1 million USD) to 99 million AUD (68.3 million USD).

“There are still too many children on social media,” Albanese said.

“These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply with our world-leading law.”

The world-first ban came into effect in December 2025, but a study published on Thursday by Australia’s University of Newcastle found that more than 85 percent of children younger than 16 said they were still using social media three months after the implementation.

In addition to harsher fines, Albanese said the proposed changes to the law would give the government’s eSafety Commissioner stronger powers to force social media companies to provide evidence of the measures they are taking to prevent under-16s from using their platforms.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the government intends to legislate the changes before the federal parliament’s annual winter break begins on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Australia’s world-first social media age restrictions for users under 16 have had a limited early impact on adolescent use, a new study has revealed.

Researchers found more than 85 per cent of under-16s continued to use restricted platforms, with many accessing services through their own accounts, as well as alternative or shared accounts, according to a statement from Australia’s University of Newcastle (UON) released on Thursday.

The UON-led study tracked 408 adolescents aged 12 to 17 before and three months after the introduction of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which came into effect in December, 2025, and requires major platforms, including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, to take reasonable steps to block underage account holders, reports Xinhua news agency.

Around two-thirds reported encountering age verification measures, most commonly self-declared age or photo-based checks, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal.