Australia has doubled the maximum civil penalty for social media companies that fail to keep users under 16 off their platforms [1].
The move signals a significant escalation in the government's effort to enforce age-restriction laws. By increasing the financial risk for tech giants, officials aim to compel platforms to implement more rigorous age-verification systems and remove underage accounts.
The maximum penalty for social-media providers that fail to keep under-16s off their platforms is now 99 million Australian dollars [1]. This figure represents a doubling of the previous maximum penalty, which was 49 million Australian dollars [2]. Some reports have cited a lower maximum of 33 million Australian dollars [3], but the government's updated figure stands at 99 million.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the increase was necessary because platforms were doing the "bare minimum" [4]. The legislation was passed earlier this month to ensure that companies like Facebook and Instagram take active responsibility for blocking children from their services [1], [5].
The Australian government is targeting platforms that have been slow to adopt strict verification measures. The new fines are designed to make non-compliance more expensive than the cost of implementing the required technology to identify and block users under the age of 16 [1], [4].
Under the new law, social media providers must take reasonable steps to prevent children from accessing their services. If a platform is found to be in breach of these requirements, the government can levy the updated civil penalties [1], [5].
“"They're doing the bare minimum."”
This policy shift transforms the Australian government's approach from guidance to aggressive enforcement. By raising the financial stakes to 99 million AUD, the government is attempting to shift the cost-benefit analysis for social media companies, making it more profitable to build strict age-verification tools than to pay occasional fines for non-compliance.
