Australia to double maximum penalty for platforms in breach of social media ban

The Australian government has announced it will double the maximum penalty for breaches of the nation's social media minimum age law to $99m (£51.7m). As part of the updated legislation, the eSafety Commissioner will also be able to compel social media companies to provide evidence of what steps they have taken to comply with the ban.Children under the age of 16 have been prevented from 10 key social media platforms in Australia since 10 December 2025, but it has been widely acknowledged that many are still able to access and use the banned apps. Investigations have been opened into the alleged non-compliance of five banned platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. Though Australia's ban was brought in late last year with huge fanfare, it has been difficult for the Australian government to enforce.In February, the BBC visited a school in Sydney where the majority of students who used social media before the ban said they still had access.In its own report, the eSafety Commission, which is the nation's independent regulator, said that seven out of 10 children aged under 16 who had a social media account before the ban still had "some access".In its statement on Saturday, the government acknowledged some of these challenges, and said the harsher penalties were evidence that it was "doubling down on platforms that are not doing enough".