Volkswacht Bodensee - Australia investigates tech giants over social media ban breaches

Australia in December banned under-16s from a raft of the world's most popular social media sites, citing the need to protect young minds from "predatory algorithms" filled with sex and violence.

Three months since the landmark laws came into effect, Australia's online safety watchdog found a "substantial proportion of Australian children" were still scrolling banned platforms.

"Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech is failing to obey the laws," Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters.

"Australia will not let the social media giants take us for mugs."

Australia's eSafety Commission flagged "significant concerns" about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

"None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech, who are innovative billion dollar companies," Wells said.

"If these companies want to do business in Australia, they must obey Australian laws."

Australia would decide any punishments by mid-2026.

Tech companies face fines of up to $33.9 million (Aus$49.5 million) under the laws.

More than five million accounts belonging to underage Australian users have been removed since the laws came into effect, the eSafety Commission said.

A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen well-being.

Australia's ban has been hailed as a godsend for parents sick of seeing children glued to their phones.

It has also drawn interest across the globe -- with Malaysia, France, New Zealand and Indonesia among the nations now eyeing similar measures.

Although social media companies have pledged to abide by the laws, they have warned the measures could instead push teenagers into dark, unregulated corners of the internet.

- Prove it -

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said accurately proving users' ages had been "a challenge for the whole industry".

It told AFP it would "keep investing in enforcement to detect and remove under-16 accounts".

Image-sharing platform Snapchat told AFP it was "fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation" and had so far locked 450,000 accounts.

TikTok said it had no comment, while inquiries on YouTube did not receive a reply.

Social media companies bear the sole responsibility for checking that Australia-based users are 16 or older.

They must prove they have taken "reasonable steps" to weed out young teenagers, although it remains unclear how this will be interpreted by the government.

Some platforms have said they would use AI tools to estimate ages based on photos, while users could also choose to prove their age by uploading a government ID.

Online discussion site Reddit has filed a legal challenge against Australia's ban, which it described as "legally erroneous".

The US-based company said there were serious privacy concerns associated with platforms verifying age, with the collection of personal data creating a risk of leaks or hacks.

Reddit's challenge is yet to be heard in Australia's High Court.

B.Baumann--VB