Australia doubles fines on Big Tech as kids circumvent social media ban | Social Media Stories

Canberra says technology platforms still allow more children to bypass its under-16 ban.

Australia has said it will fine social media companies that fail to ban children from their platforms, accusing Big Tech of avoiding the spirit of its 16-year-old ban.

The government said on Saturday that new rules will raise the maximum penalty for systematic breaches from 49.5 million to 99 million Australian dollars ($31m to $68m) and give the eSafety Commissioner stronger powers to compel platforms to comply.

The regulator is investigating possible violations by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

“It is clear that Big Tech is not doing enough to enforce the law – there are still too many children on TV,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure of the internet industry.”

The ban, which came into effect on December 10, made Australia a global leader in countries trying to prevent children from using social media. The United Kingdom, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand are among those considering or considering similar bans.

But kids continue to evade the law by using accounts registered to adults, creating fake profiles or logging into private browsers.

A peer-reviewed review published this month in the British Medical Journal found “inconclusive evidence” that the ban has significantly reduced TV use among young people. Researchers surveyed more than 400 children before the measure and three months later, and found “significant suppression” of the rules.

The government says more than 5 million accounts of people under the age of 16 have been closed, but Communications Minister Anika Wells said the platforms are still lacking.

“Based on the regular updates I receive from the eSafety Commissioner, it’s clear that social media is taking tricks from Big Tech’s playbook and doing little to make it work,” Wells said.

“Social media is one of the richest and most powerful industries in the world, and we have a strong interest in responding to it,” he said.

The new powers would allow the eSafety Commissioner to demand documents and evidence from platforms, age-review companies and app stores.

Platforms must demonstrate that they have taken “reasonable measures” to keep people under 16. Some use artificial intelligence to estimate age, while users can also verify their age with a government ID.