Australia was already the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16. Now it’s making clear it intends to enforce that ban with sharper teeth. The Australian government has announced it will double the maximum fine for social media companies that break its minimum age law, raising the ceiling from 49.5 million to 99 million AUD, which is roughly $68 million USD.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t mince words about why. “It’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law,” he said. “These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply with our world-leading law.” The original ban came into effect in December 2025, and the government says more than five million under-16 accounts have since been removed, deactivated or restricted. But the numbers coming out of independent research tell a different story.
Two studies have raised real questions about whether the ban is actually working. A survey by the Molly Rose Foundation found that 61 percent of 12-to-15-year-olds polled still had access to social media. A more recent study from the University of Newcastle put that figure even higher, claiming more than 85 percent of Australian teens under 16 are still using social media apps. Those numbers are likely a big part of why the government is now pushing harder on enforcement.
Alongside the higher fine, the government is also expanding the powers of its eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant. She can now demand that social media platforms provide direct evidence of how they are stopping underage users from creating accounts. Crucially, the commissioner can also gather compliance evidence from third parties, including age verification services and app store providers. That’s a significant change. It means platforms can’t simply self-report and move on.
The agencies currently under active investigation for potential non-compliance are:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- YouTube
This matters beyond Australia’s borders. Countries across Europe, the UK, and North America are watching closely as they consider similar restrictions on social media access for minors. Australia’s approach has been the boldest so far, but bold laws only count if they’re enforced. Doubling the penalty is a signal that the government is willing to go after platforms that drag their feet, but the real test is whether fines at this level actually change behavior from companies that generate billions in annual revenue. For a platform like Meta or TikTok, even 99 million AUD is a manageable cost of doing business unless regulators show they’re willing to use the power consistently.