Australia Doubles Down on Social Media Age Restrictions with Hefty Fines

After becoming the first in the world to implement a social media ban for those under 16, Australia isn't doubling down. In a press release, the Australian government announced that it will double the maximum penalty for any social media companies breaking its minimum age law, from 49.5 million to 99 million AUD, or more than $68 million. "It's clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law," Anthony Albanese, the country's prime minister, said. "These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply with our world-leading law." Along with the new penalty threshold, the Australian government is granting its eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant, more enforcement power. Now, the commissioner can demand social media companies provide evidence of how they're stopping children under 16 years old from starting an account. Notably, the Australian agency can gather evidence regarding compliance with the ban from third parties, like from age verification or app store providers, according to the press release. The country's online safety agency also said it's still "actively investigating potential non-compliance" with Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.