Australia to double potential fines over child social media accounts

Key Points:

• Australia plans to double fines to up to 99 million AUD ($68 million) for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram that fail to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts, following criticism that the current ban is ineffective.
• Communications Minister Anika Wells criticized Big Tech for resisting the age restrictions and announced draft legislation to increase the powers of the eSafety Commissioner to demand information and enforce compliance.
• The proposed amendments would allow the eSafety Commissioner to obtain data from third parties, such as age verification providers, to verify platforms' claims about underage account circumvention.
• Opposition lawmaker Jane Hume acknowledged the initial legislation was insufficient and expressed openness to supporting the reforms, highlighting the need for stronger enforcement powers.
• Despite initial reports of over 5 million child accounts removed, recent data shows 70% of children remained on restricted platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, prompting potential legal action by the eSafety Commissioner.