Australia is set to introduce new parliamentary legislation that strengthens the country's under-16 social media ban and boosts the legal authority of its internet regulator to pursue technology companies in court for breaches.
The package, announced ahead of formal tabling, responds to indications that young users are still able to access social platforms despite the world-first restrictions that came into force in December. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government believes too many children remain on social media and that technology companies have not done enough to meet the law's requirements.
"We’re calling time on the social media companies today and doubling down on the changes that we have made and that we’re prepared to make," Albanese told reporters in Canberra. "Today, we’ll introduce legislation this afternoon that goes further to ensure social media companies are doing everything within their power to stop children under 16 being on their platforms."
The parliamentary move follows investigations by the eSafety Commissioner into possible non-compliance by five platforms: Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Google’s YouTube. There was no immediate comment from Meta, Google and Snapchat. TikTok declined to comment.
Under the announced changes, maximum fines for breaches would be doubled from A$49.5 million to A$99 million. The reforms would also provide the eSafety Commissioner with authority to compel companies to produce internal documents - including board minutes and internal emails - to ensure legal actions against non-compliant platforms are built on robust evidence, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
Wells framed the changes as part of a sustained push to make the law effective. "My message to Big Tech is this: we are not stopping. Every effort you make to frustrate these laws will be met with our efforts to make these laws work," she said. "If the eSafety Commissioner finds companies are not doing everything they can to comply, they will face the full force of the law."
Albanese appealed to the conservative coalition opposition to support the bill, noting that the original policy secured bipartisan backing when it passed.
Currency information included with the announcement showed the exchange rate used in reporting: ($1 = 1.4518 Australian dollars).
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