Australia’s social media ban has an enforcement problem. These new laws aim to fix it
The government is returning to some unfinished business: strengthening its social media age restrictions.
Australia's social media age restrictions, introduced in December, require major platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating accounts. However, investigations show that over 85% of under-16s were still using these platforms three months after the restrictions took effect. The primary issue lies in the lack of sophisticated age checks, with only about two-thirds of users reporting encountering any checks at all.
To address this, the government is set to introduce amendments to the Online Safety Amendment Bill, which will strengthen the eSafety Commissioner's powers to investigate compliance with these rules. These amendments will empower eSafety to demand documents from social media companies and other relevant parties, giving them a better view of the entire digital ecosystem.
The bill also doubles the fines for non-compliance, bringing them in line with other corporate regulations. While these changes may improve enforcement, they may not fully tackle the deeper issues of platform design and business models that make digital environments harmful for young users.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
