Australia moves to double penalties for breaches of under-16 social media ban

Australia’s federal government says it will double the maximum penalty for systematic breaches of the under-16 social media ban to A$99 million, escalating pressure on major platforms it says are not doing enough to keep children off restricted services.

The proposal would also strengthen the eSafety commissioner’s powers to gather evidence from platforms and from other companies involved in age assurance, including app-store providers.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Anika Wells said the tougher approach was needed because too many children were still accessing social media despite the ban.

The move follows months of scrutiny over whether the law is working as intended, with recent reporting and research suggesting many under-16s are still bypassing age checks and using social media anyway.

Why the government is acting now

Australia’s under-16 social media ban took effect in December 2025. Since then, the government says more than 5 million underage accounts have been removed, deactivated or restricted.

But officials now say compliance remains inadequate. The existing maximum penalty for systematic breaches is A$49.5 million, and the government wants to raise the cost of non-compliance sharply.

The policy is being framed as a child-safety and online-harm measure, but enforcement has become the central political question. The government argues that current settings have not created enough pressure on large platforms to take stronger preventive steps.

Albanese has said big tech is not doing enough to comply with the law. Wells has been even more direct, saying platforms are doing the bare minimum and that the regulator needs stronger tools.

What would change

The headline change is the penalty increase. For serious, systematic breaches, the fine ceiling would rise from A$49.5 million to A$99 million.

The other major change is procedural. The eSafety commissioner would be able to compel platforms and third parties to provide evidence and documents, expanding the regulator’s ability to test whether companies are taking reasonable steps.

That would matter not only for the platforms most directly associated with teen use, but also for companies around them in the age-verification chain. Coverage of the proposal says the new powers could reach age-assurance providers and app-store operators.

The platforms named in reporting include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

Enforcement backdrop

The announcement lands against a broader debate over whether social media bans can be enforced effectively.

A University of Newcastle study reported this week found widespread continued use among under-16s, reinforcing doubts about how much impact the current framework has had in practice.

There had also already been active scrutiny of possible non-compliance by several major platforms before this tightening was announced. The new measures are designed in part to respond to that scrutiny and to make investigations more effective.

Supporters of the tougher line argue that a ban without serious penalties and evidence powers risks becoming symbolic rather than enforceable.

What happens next

The reforms still need to move through parliament before they become law.

The next stage will likely focus on how broad the new powers should be, whether they remain limited to social platforms or extend more clearly across the wider digital ecosystem, and whether the new fine level is proportionate.

Platforms are also likely to respond publicly to the higher penalty exposure and the prospect of more intrusive evidence demands.

For now, the government is presenting the proposal as a necessary escalation after what it sees as weak compliance with one of Australia’s most closely watched online-safety laws.