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Australia probes Meta, TikTok on under-16 social ban
Australia’s online safety regulator has opened investigations into Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube over compliance with the country’s ban on social media accounts for under-16s.
In its first compliance report, eSafety said it had “significant concerns” about safeguards, including limits that still let under-16s create accounts and checks that allow repeated attempts until a pass.
The regulator said it has started gathering evidence for possible action, noting that enforcement would require establishing a platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from holding accounts – potentially exposing it to fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34 million).
eSafety expects enforcement decisions by mid-year, though under-16 use remains significant.
🔗 Source: Bloomberg
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Australia’s social media ban faces High Court challenges
- The regulator’s investigation is moving ahead while the law is under challenge in the High Court of Australia, the nation’s top court.
- Two days after the ban started, Reddit sued, arguing the law breaches Australia’s implied freedom of political communication 1.
- Reddit argues many under-16 users will become voters within months or years, and the restriction unlawfully limits their political participation 1.
- The fight matches wider industry pushback, with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner saying large social media platforms accepted the new rules “kicking and screaming” 2.
Australia’s ban is a global test case for youth online safety
- The compliance check sits within a global move away from user consent models toward direct access limits 3.
- Denmark, France, and Spain are tracking Australia’s approach as they weigh similar restrictions for underage social media users 4.
- In the United States, comparable state efforts in places such as Arkansas and Utah have largely stalled after First Amendment challenges 3.
- Australia’s result may shape whether other countries lean toward outright bans or require product changes, including removing “addictive features” like infinite scroll 5.
