Australia to double penalty for social media ban breaches to $99m as tech giants accused of ‘not doing enough’

The federal government will double the penalty for breaches of Australia’s youth social media ban to $99m, arguing tech companies are “not doing enough” to keep children off harmful social media sites. And the eSafety commissioner, now investigating potential breaches of the law by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, will have its information-gathering powers strengthened under proposed further reforms. “I’m heartened by the shift in conversation and the global momentum we’ve seen since introducing the social media minimum age ,” the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said, “but it’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law – there are still too many children on social media.” The government said more than 5m accounts held by under-16s had been removed, deactivated or restricted since Australia’s world-leading ban was introduced on 10 December, but research suggested the majority of under-16s were bypassing age restrictions and still accessing social media. The proposed new laws would double the penalty for systematic breaches of the under-16s social media ban – from $49.5m to $99m – bringing it into line with penalties available under competition and consumer law.