Australia 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 alleged failures, including allowing repeated age verification attempts until users pass, failing to block banned users from creating new accounts, and providing poor mechanisms for reporting underage users. The ban, introduced in December 2024, has led to over 4.7 million accounts being deactivated in its first days, though surveys suggest many children still retain access, with 31% of parents reporting their under-16s still have social media accounts. The government has expanded the scope of the ban to include more platforms and warned of fines up to A$49.5 million for systemic noncompliance. While platforms like Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok have reported closing hundreds of thousands of accounts, critics argue their enforcement measures remain inadequate. The investigation reflects broader tensions between tech companies and regulators over age verification technologies and the effectiveness of digital safeguards for young users.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
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 verification until they pass, and failing to prevent banned users from creating new accounts.
- Fines of up to A$49.5 million (approximately US$33.9 million) can be imposed on platforms for systemic noncompliance with the ban.
- Over 4.7 million accounts were deactivated or restricted in the first two days after the ban took effect on December 10, 2024, according to the eSafety Commissioner.
- The ban covers 10 platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, Reddit, YouTube, Kick, and Twitch, with updates expanding to include platforms with infinite scroll, feedback features, and time-limited content.
- A survey of 900 Australian parents found that 31% of children still had social media accounts after the ban, down from 49% before the ban, with 70% of pre-ban users retaining access on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
- The Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that platforms ‘systematically failed to uphold their legal obligations’ and accused them of ‘undermining’ the government’s laws.
- The eSafety Commissioner’s report highlighted ‘unacceptable’ systems, including poor reporting mechanisms for underage users and ineffective age-assurance technologies, particularly for users near the 16-year-old cutoff.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant mentioned ‘teething issues’ as platforms deployed new age-assurance technologies after the ban’s implementation.
- The definition of platforms covered by the ban was updated in January 2025 to include those with infinite scroll, feedback features like likes, and time-limited elements (e.g., disappearing stories).
- Meta reported closing 550,000 accounts, while Snapchat and TikTok combined closed 665,000 accounts in the first month of the ban.
- The ban excludes platforms like Discord, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and Roblox under existing laws.
- The ban was introduced after News Corp’s ‘Let Them Be Kids’ campaign, making Australia the first country to raise the minimum age of access to 16.
- Meta (parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) reported closing 550,000 accounts, while Snapchat and TikTok closed a combined 665,000 accounts.
- The Guardian reported that the eSafety Commission’s update would reveal ‘unacceptable’ systems, including platforms allowing children to repeatedly attempt age assurance tests until they pass.
- The article included a brief mention of Penny Wong’s comments on Iran’s conflict, unrelated to the social media ban story.
- A survey of 900 parents found that 70% of under-16s who had accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok before the ban still retained access post-ban.
- The eSafety report stated that the most common reason children still had accounts was that they had not yet been asked to verify their age by the platform.
- Meta’s statement emphasized that age verification is challenging for the industry, particularly at the 16-year-old boundary, citing the government’s own Age Assurance Technology Trial.
- Meta suggested requiring robust age verification and parental approval at the app store and operating system level as a solution.
- The SBS article noted that platforms were making it easy to find ways to circumvent age-assurance measures, though this was not detailed further in other sources.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC and Guardian 2 both report that platforms allow repeated age verification attempts, but only Guardian 2 explicitly states this is ‘unacceptable’ and part of ‘poor practices’.
- Guardian 2 claims that 70% of pre-ban users retained access on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, while ABC does not provide this specific percentage breakdown for these platforms.
- ABC states that the ban excludes Discord, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and Roblox, but Guardian 2 does not mention these exclusions.
- Guardian 2 reports that Meta suggested requiring age verification at the app store and OS level as a solution, while ABC and Newscomaau do not mention this specific proposal.
- ABC and Newscomaau mention Meta’s account closures (550,000), but Guardian 2 does not provide this exact number, only stating Meta is committed to compliance.
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