According to Xinhua, the Australian government announced on June 27 (local time) that it would double the maximum fine for companies that do not implement the country's social media ban on children under 16 years old.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on the evening of June 27 that technology companies have not "do enough" to comply with the social media ban on children under 16 years old. He said the government will submit to the federal parliament a bill to increase the maximum fine for social media companies that do not prevent children under 16 years old from using their platforms, from 49.5 million AUD (about 34.1 million USD) to 99 million AUD (68.3 million USD).
There are still too many children on social media," Mr. Albanese said. "These changes reflect our seriousness about any failure of social media companies to comply with our world-leading law.
This first ban in the world takes effect in December 2025, but a study by the University of Newcastle, Australia, shows that more than 85% of children under 16 say they are still using social media 3 months after the ban was implemented.
In addition to heavier penalties, Mr. Albanese said that the proposed changes to the law will give the Government's eSafety Commissioner more powers to force social media companies to provide evidence of measures they are taking to prevent children under 16 years old from using the platform.
