Fines doubled. Again.
Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s hasn’t exactly crushed the problem. Three months after the law kicked in seven out of ten kids are still on the restricted platforms. So the government is turning the screws. Harder.
The plan is straightforward. Double the maximum penalty to 90 million Australian dollars (roughly 63 million euros). This hits platforms like Facebook Instagram Snapchat and TikTok. If they don’t take reasonable steps to keep minors off the site they get hit with the bill.
“We can all agree we would like the.scheme to work better than it.is currently but that.is.on Big Tech.taking the.Mickey”
That was Communications Minister Anika Wells on Monday. Blame game time. She said platforms aren’t doing enough.
She’s got receipts though. Or at least data. Wells noted monthly updates from the online safety regulator showed zero real improvement since March. The initial report claimed over 5 million child accounts were removed or restricted. Sounds like progress. Right?
Then came the March findings.
The eSafety commission looked deeper. They found that 70 percent of children who had accounts when the ban started on December 10 are still active today. Still there. Still posting. Still watching.
This isn’t just about slapping on fines. The new draft legislation also expands the powers of eSafety Commissioner Julie.Inman Grant. She can now demand info and docs from the platforms themselves. And from third-party tech providers too. It lets her actually test what these companies claim about how kids slip through the net.
Inman Grant is angry. Or at least ready to fight.
In April she mentioned court action might be coming. Targets included YouTube too. She argued they weren’t taking reasonable steps to block children. She did note that other platforms X.Kick.Reddit.Threads and Twitch made decent progress. She’s satisfied with them. For now.
The opposition isn’t letting the government off the hook either.
Senior lawmaker Jane Hume says her party might support the new rules. But she has a bone to pick with the original plan.
The first bill was undercooked. She argued it didn’t give the commissioner the teeth she needed to go after Big Tech from day one. Parliament passed the ban with massive support back in 2024. Companies had more than 12 months to prepare. That was plenty of time.
They blew it.
Now countries around the world are watching closely. Australia’s the guinea pig for this kind of restriction. Some have followed similar paths others are considering them. The outcome matters beyond just this border.
Wells insists these changes give the commissioner the tools she needs to hold platforms accountable. That’s the pitch anyway.
But accountability takes time. And enforcement takes guts. The fines are bigger now. The powers are wider. Whether 70 percent becomes 5 percent is the real test.
No one seems to have an easy answer yet.
