Australia warns social media platforms of 'major gaps' in under-16 ban enforcement
The eSafety Commissioner identified 'poor practices' from social media companies, such as platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass their age assurance methods.
Australia’s online safety watchdog said on Tuesday it was considering legal action against social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, alleging they are not doing enough to keep Australian children younger than 16 off their platforms.
The Australian law introduced in December restricts children under 16 from creating or keeping accounts on platforms such as Facebook, X, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Google-owned YouTube.
Three months after the ban, five million accounts have been deactivated, according to the country's eSafety Commissioner. However, a substantial number of children continue to retain accounts, create new ones or pass age assurance systems on five platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, a new compliance report reads.
The social media sites do not have "effective" ways to report any underage accounts on their platforms, nor have good enough methods to stop them from being created, the office said.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she expects the platforms to comply with Australia's safety laws "or face escalating consequences, including profound reputational erosion with governments and consumers".
Her office has a range of enforcement powers, including issuing a civil penalty of up to $49.5 million Australian (€ 29.8 million).
The eSafety Commissioner's office said it will decide on whether to pursue legal action against Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok by mid-year. If that happens, the eSafety office said it will be prioritising cases that demonstrate "systemic failures" in keeping children off their platforms.
Age-restricted platforms that aren’t under investigation are Reddit, X, Kick, Threads, and Twitch.
Australia's Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters that social media platforms are "choosing to do the absolute bare minimum because they want these laws to fail."
“This is the world-leading law. We’re the first in the world to do it. Of course, they don’t want these laws to work because they want that to be a chilling effect on the dozen countries that have come out since Dec. 10 to follow Australia’s step,” she added.
What did the platforms have to say?
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told The Associated Press it was committed to complying with Australia’s social media ban. “We’ve also been clear that accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry,” the statement said.
Snap Inc. said it has locked 450,000 accounts in compliance with the law and continues to lock more every day.
“Snapchat remains fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation and supporting its underlying goal of improving online safety for young Australians,” a Snap statement said.
Snapchat's CEO Evan Spiegel called Australia's ban a "high-stakes experiment" in an opinion piece last month.
"To be clear, I don’t believe Snapchat should be subject to a ban in the first place," Spiegel wrote. "I don’t believe cutting teens off from these relationships makes them safer or advances their wellbeing."
Spiegel advocated for app-store-level age restrictions for youth instead, which experts have said would not go far enough to protect young people from mature content.
TikTok declined to comment on Tuesday, and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reddit has filed one of two constitutional challenges to the social media ban in the Australian High Court. The lawsuit alleges the country's law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the implied freedom of political communication.
The first hearing is in May, when the court will set a date for oral arguments.
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