The Australian government has accused major tech firms including Snapchat, Meta and TikTok of failing to enforce the country’s ban on under-16s using social media, after a survey found that two-thirds of children who had accounts before the law retained access.
The eSafety Commission reported that around 70 per cent of under-16s who previously held accounts on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok still had access after the ban came into effect in December last year. Specifically, 69.4 per cent of Snapchat users retained their accounts.
Investigations have been launched into Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for potential non-compliance. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the companies were doing the “absolute bare minimum” and accused them of using ineffective age verification methods. “None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech who are innovative billion dollar companies,” she said.
The laws carry a maximum fine of A$49.5m (£25.7m). Meta responded by stating it was committed to compliance but noted that accurate age determination remains a challenge for the whole industry, calling for age verification at the app store level. TikTok and Google did not comment.
The eSafety survey of nearly 900 parents found that while overall account ownership fell, a substantial proportion of under-16s remained on platforms. For YouTube, half of parents said their child still had an account despite the restrictions. The government had earlier claimed more than 4.7 million accounts were removed in the first days of the ban.
