US EditionAustralia Investigates Five Social Media Platforms for Under-16 Ban Compliance
Australia's eSafety Commission probes major platforms for inadequate age verification and poor reporting, with 5 million accounts removed but many under-16s still active, facing up to $49.5 million fines.
- On Tuesday, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant released a compliance report demanding 10 platforms remove all Australian users younger than 16, citing "significant concerns" about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
- Since the law took effect on December 10, 5 million accounts have been deactivated, yet the regulator reports many children continue to bypass age assurance systems to retain or create new accounts.
- Communications Minister Anika Wells accused platforms of "deliberately not complying," citing "poor practices" such as allowing unlimited age verification attempts and prompting users to retry after declaring themselves underage.
- Regulators are gathering evidence to determine whether companies took "reasonable steps" to exclude children, with courts potentially ordering fines of up to $33 million for systemic failures to comply.
- Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project filed constitutional challenges in the Australian High Court, arguing the law infringes on "implied freedom of political communication," with a preliminary hearing set for May 21.
143 Articles
143 Articles
Australia's e-safety watchdog has found that internet giants have not done enough to prevent under-16s from accessing social media.
Australia has said enough and intends to sue the giants of social platforms. The reason? A “significant percentage” of children under the age of 16 continue to use them although the country banned their access, eSafety, the Australian regulator of Internet security, denounced yesterday. The problem is not the minors, but the big companies, which are not implanting – it is understood that in a premeditated way – the technology necessary to apply …
Social media giants not fully complying with child account ban, Australia alleges
Social media platforms hosted by Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, could face court enforcement in Australia for allegedly not fully complying with the country’s ban on the platforms for those under 16, the country’s digital safety watchdog said in a report published Thursday. The compliance report, the first of its kind since the platform ban…
Australia’s online security control agency is studying going to court against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, as announced on Tuesday, finding that they are not doing enough to prevent Australian children under 16 years of age from using their platforms. Experts point out that Australian courts could determine what measures platforms can reasonably be expected to take under the laws that came into force on 10 December and that…
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