Five social media giants are facing potential penalties worth millions of dollars after being accused of failing to properly enforce the age ban.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube have all been named and shamed by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, more than three months since the ban on under-16s came into effect.
The first compliance report shows some progress in the first three months, with a large number of accounts removed from platforms.
However, the e-Safety Commissioner has warned that major gaps remain.
Some platforms have been accused of allowing kids to get around the ban, including by prompting children to try to have their age verified, even though they had already declared they were under 16.
They are also alleged to have allowed kids under 16 to repeatedly try the same age assurance method until they eventually obtained the right outcome.
The e-Safety Commissioner has also found that some platforms have insufficient measures to stop new under-16 accounts being created, and that there were no effective ways to report age-restricted accounts.
Further evidence is being gathered with a view to taking enforcement action against the social media giants.
Penalties of up to $49.5 million dollars could be slapped on the platforms.
“While social media platforms have taken some initial action, I am concerned through our compliance monitoring that some may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
“As a result, we are now moving into an enforcement stance. Any enforcement action requires sufficient evidence, which takes time to gather. The evidence must establish the platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account.
“That means more than simply demonstrating some children do still have accounts. Rather, the evidence must show the platform has not implemented appropriate systems and processes.”
