Australia probes Meta, TikTok & YouTube over social media ban violations

Australia has launched an investigation into tech giants, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Google, and Facebook for violating the country’s under-16 social media ban.

The country, the first one in enforcing the social-media ban, also accused these tech companies of “failing to obey” the world-leading laws.

Since the landmark law came into effect this December, the Australian watchdog has found a “substantial amount of evidence demonstrating the children are still having access to these platforms despite a nationwide ban.”

As per eSafety Commission, the watchdog has removed more than 5 million accounts belonging to Australian teens since the enforcement of the ban.

According to Communications Minister Anika Wells, “Australia’s world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech is failing to obey the laws.”

"We have spent the summer building that evidence base of all ​the stories that no doubt you have all heard ... about how kids are getting around that," Wells ⁠added.

Violation of Australian law

"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," Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

Given the alleged role of social media giants in flouting the ban, Australia threatened to sue them for breaches and deliver any punishment by mid-2026.

Under the law, these tech companies could face fines up to $33.9 million.

Australia in December took a historic step and banned major social media platforms for under-16s to protect the kids from “predatory algorithms” filled with online abuse and sexual content.

Since then, other countries, such as the UK, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Malaysia, and Indonesia have been making significant efforts to follow suit.

Concerns mentioned in first safety report

In the first safety report, the regulator has identified a “number of poor practices” from major platforms. These practices include:

Permitting underage users to repeatedly bypass age assurance filters through trial and error.

Allowing users who previously identified as under 16 to correct their age once a ban is implemented.

Failing to implement robust preventive measures to prevent new underage users from registering.

Absence of effective and accessible channels for parents and third parties to flag underage accounts.

According to a report, 4.7 million accounts had been restricted in the first months since December.

Responses of tech companies

According to Meta, the company is determined “to keep investing in enforcement to detect and remove under 16- accounts.”

Snapchat also showed “full commitment to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation and had so far locked 450,000 accounts.”

TikTok and YouTube did not comment on the report.