Australia Doubles Fines to $99 Million for Social Media Platforms

In a major legislative update, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will double the maximum financial penalty for technology firms that break the country’s law blocking kids under 16 from social media.

Social media networks that fail to block children under the age of 16 from using their platforms will now face staggering fines of up to 99 million Australian dollars, which is equivalent to roughly CAD $97 million.

The new rules come exactly six months after Australia made history by enforcing its comprehensive underage social media ban. While the government notes that more than five million accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 have been removed, deactivated, or restricted since the rules originally went into effect, authorities argue that tech giants are still failing to take their legal duties seriously.

Recent studies from independent groups suggest that a significant majority of local teenagers are still successfully logging into their favourite accounts by using simple workarounds or fake birth dates.

To fix these compliance gaps, the upcoming legislation will drastically expand the investigatory reach of the country’s independent online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner.

Crucially, this new power extends beyond the social media platforms themselves. The independent regulator can now demand information, documents, and compliance data from third-party services. This includes application store operators and specialised digital age verification providers.

“Australia is leading the world in our efforts to keep kids and young people safe online,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated during the press announcement. He added, “These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply with our world-leading law.”

Australian officials have confirmed that the eSafety Commissioner is currently actively investigating the five big global platforms for potential non-compliance i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.