Australia has announced proposed amendments to its online safety law that would significantly raise the stakes for social media companies unable to prevent underage access to their services. Under the measures unveiled Saturday, firms found to have systematically breached the legislation could face fines up to A$99 million - double the current maximum penalty.
Alongside the higher fines, the reforms would broaden the eSafety Commissioners investigatory authority. The regulator would be empowered to request information not only from social media platforms themselves, but also from app stores and providers of age-verification services.
The proposed changes come as the government concedes that the national ban on children under 16 holding social media accounts has not fully halted use by minors. Introduced six months ago and noted as a global first for a nationwide prohibition, the law has led to the removal or restriction of more than 5 million accounts belonging to users under 16 since it took effect. Despite that enforcement activity, officials say many underage users continue to find ways to circumvent the rules.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said major technology companies had not gone far enough in enforcing the law. The eSafety Commissioner is conducting compliance checks into a set of large platforms to determine whether they have met the requirements of the legislation. Those under examination include Meta Platforms Incs Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet Incs YouTube, Snaps Snapchat and TikTok.
Separately, Reddit has initiated a legal challenge in Australias High Court, contending that the law infringes on freedom of expression. The government has stated it intends to defend the legislation.
The package of amendments aims to increase regulatory leverage through higher financial penalties and wider information-gathering powers. Officials say the changes respond to ongoing noncompliance by some services and to perceived gaps in the regulators current reach - notably in relation to third parties involved in app distribution and age verification.
As the proposed reforms move forward, the central unresolved issues noted in public statements are the continuing ability of underage users to bypass account restrictions and the legal challenge raised by Reddit, both of which leave the laws long-term impact uncertain.