Australian government investigates social media platforms for under-16s ban compliance failures
Consensus Summary
Australia’s government is investigating five major social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube—for potential noncompliance with a world-first ban on under-16s using their services. The eSafety Commissioner’s upcoming report reveals systemic failures, including platforms allowing repeated age-assurance attempts, failing to block banned users from creating new accounts, and providing poor mechanisms for reporting underage users. Over 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days after the ban took effect in December 2024, but surveys indicate many children still retain access, with 31% of parents reporting their under-16s still had accounts. Communications Minister Anika Wells has threatened fines of up to $49.5 million for systemic breaches, emphasizing that platforms must comply with Australian law if they operate in the country. While platforms like Meta and TikTok have acknowledged challenges in age verification, critics argue their enforcement efforts fall short of legal requirements. The government’s push for stricter compliance contrasts with anecdotal reports of continued underage access, raising questions about the ban’s effectiveness despite initial account closures.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube are under investigation by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner for potential noncompliance with the under-16 social media ban, announced on or before February 2025.
- The eSafety Commissioner’s compliance update was scheduled for release on Tuesday, February 2025, detailing alleged failures by platforms to enforce age restrictions.
- Platforms are accused of allowing underage users to repeatedly attempt age-assurance tests until they pass, per reports from ABC, Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, and SBS.
- More than 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days after the ban took effect on December 10, 2024, according to ABC, NewsCorp Australia, and Guardian.
- Fines of up to $49.5 million (AUD) can be imposed on platforms for systemic noncompliance with the under-16 ban, as stated by ABC, Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, and SBS.
- The 10 platforms covered by the ban include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, Reddit, YouTube, Kick, and Twitch, as reported by ABC and NewsCorp Australia.
- A survey of 900 Australian parents found 31% of children still had social media accounts after the ban, down from 49% before, according to the Guardian and eSafety’s report.
- Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that platforms ‘must obey Australian laws’ if they want to operate in Australia, quoted in ABC, Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, and SBS.
- eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant is tasked with policing compliance with the ban, as mentioned in ABC and Guardian articles.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant mentioned ‘teething issues’ as platforms deployed new age-assurance technologies post-ban, December 2024.
- The definition of platforms covered by the ban was updated in January 2025 to include those with infinite scroll, feedback features (likes/upvotes), and time-limited elements (disappearing stories).
- Meta (Facebook, Instagram) reported closing 550,000 accounts, while Snapchat and TikTok combined closed 665,000 accounts since the ban.
- The eSafety Commissioner’s preliminary analysis found platforms made ‘meaningful attempts’ to remove underage users in the first two days of the ban.
- Tech companies are required to provide data on compliance to eSafety under the laws, as per ABC’s reporting.
- A Guardian Australia survey found 70% of under-16s who had accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok before the ban maintained access post-ban.
- The Guardian reported that 63.6% of parents said their child still had a Facebook account, 69.1% for Instagram, 69.4% for Snapchat, and 69.3% for TikTok after the ban.
- The Guardian included a quote from Penny Wong urging de-escalation in the Iran conflict, unrelated to the social media story but present in the article.
- The Guardian noted that eSafety’s report stated facial age estimation had higher error rates for users near the 16-year-old cutoff, leading to false positives.
- The Guardian reported that TikTok and Google did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
- NewsCorp Australia explicitly cited the ‘Let Them Be Kids’ campaign by News Corp as the impetus behind Australia raising the age of access to social media.
- The article emphasized that platforms’ tactics to undermine the law were ‘right out of the big tech playbook,’ using a direct quote from Anika Wells.
- SBS reported that platforms were making it easy to find ways to circumvent age-assurance measures, without providing specific examples or data.
- The second Guardian article included a statement from Meta claiming age verification is challenging for the industry, particularly at the 16-year-old boundary, referencing the government’s own Age Assurance Technology Trial.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC and NewsCorp Australia report that 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days of the ban, but the Guardian does not specify the exact number of accounts deactivated per platform in its initial reporting.
- The Guardian’s survey shows 70% of under-16s maintained access to Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok post-ban, while ABC and NewsCorp Australia focus more on systemic failures rather than specific retention rates.
- ABC states that platforms ‘made meaningful attempts’ to remove underage users in the first two days, while the Guardian and eSafety’s report highlight ongoing issues with retention and poor enforcement practices.
- The Guardian’s second article quotes Meta as saying age verification is challenging due to ‘natural error margins,’ while Anika Wells in ABC and NewsCorp Australia dismisses this as unacceptable and calls for strict compliance.
- NewsCorp Australia and ABC mention that platforms like Discord, WhatsApp, and Roblox are excluded from the ban, but the Guardian does not explicitly confirm this exclusion in its initial reporting.
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