Australia’s government has launched formal investigations into five major social media platforms for failing to enforce the country’s kids social media ban, and is moving to double the maximum fine for companies found in systemic non-compliance.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named Meta‘s Facebook and Instagram, Google‘s YouTube, Snap‘s Snapchat, and TikTok as the five platforms under investigation by eSafety, Australia’s online safety regulator. “It’s clear Big Tech are not doing enough to comply with the law. There are still too many children on social media,” Albanese said.
The kids social media ban came into force on December 10, 2025, requiring those five platforms to stop users under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts. Australia was the first country to implement a national social media age restriction at this scale. Since the ban took effect, platforms have deactivated or restricted access to around five million accounts. However, a government report published in March found that seven in 10 children who held accounts on banned platforms on the day the law took effect were still active on those platforms months later.
Doubled fines and wider powers for eSafety
Revised legislation will raise the ceiling for systemic failures from AU$49.5 million to AU$99 million (approximately $68 million USD). The changes also expand the powers of the eSafety Commissioner. Currently, the regulator can investigate but lacks the authority to compel platforms to hand over specific documentation. The revised rules allow eSafety to demand evidence from platforms, age-verification vendors, and app marketplace operators showing what steps they have taken to prevent minors from accessing their services.
Under the investigation, eSafety can issue formal notices requiring platforms to demonstrate compliance. Companies are required to take “reasonable steps” to stop under-16s from signing up, including through AI-based age estimation and government ID verification. Communications Minister Anika Wells said platforms have shown minimal compliance effort under the existing framework.
The new provisions give eSafety the authority to demand that evidence directly, rather than relying on platform self-reporting.
Kids social media ban is being widely bypassed
Research published in the British Medical Journal found substantial circumvention of the rules, with little measurable reduction in youth social media use three months after implementation. Children have been using accounts registered to adults and fake profiles to bypass restrictions. A separate Australian government survey found around 80 percent of children continue to use social media despite the ban.
Several other governments are watching how Australia’s enforcement effort plays out. The United Kingdom, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand are all assessing comparable restrictions. The UK introduced its own age restrictions for under-16s on social media earlier in 2026.
The five investigations under Australia’s kids social media ban enforcement law are ongoing. eSafety has not confirmed a timeline for conclusions or said whether it will proceed to formal penalties against any of the named platforms.