Australia doubles fines and expands oversight to enforce under-16 social media ban

Australia will double the maximum penalty for violating its social media minimum-age law from AUD 49.5 million to AUD 99 million and expand the eSafety Commissioner’s powers to compel platforms and third parties (including age-verification and app-store providers) to show how they keep users under 16 off their services, six months after the Online Safety Amendment Act took effect. More than five million accounts have been removed or restricted, and the eSafety Commissioner is investigating five platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube—to close enforcement gaps.