Australia is preparing to tighten its laws banning children under the age of 16 from using social media, as the government admits many young users continue to access major platforms despite the restrictions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government is reviewing whether the existing law, which took effect on Dec. 10 last year, needs to be strengthened and whether regulators have sufficient authority to enforce it effectively.
"We're working on that as a priority because this is something that other generations didn't have to deal with, which is why it's complex," Albanese told Parliament on Thursday.
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday, he said the government was examining whether the legislation was "as strong as possible" and whether eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had all the powers needed to enforce the rules.
Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide ban preventing children under 16 from holding accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Since then, several other countries have introduced or proposed similar restrictions.
Britain last week announced plans to stop children under 16 from accessing several social media platforms to reduce exposure to harmful content and excessive screen time.
Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have also introduced age-based rules or proposed legislation for children's social media access, while France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are considering similar measures.
In April, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she was considering legal action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, claiming the companies had not done enough to prevent underage Australians from using their platforms.
Those platforms, along with X, Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch, face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (US$34 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts belonging to children under 16.
Experts say recent data suggests the current restrictions are not working as intended.
Lisa Given, an information sciences expert at Melbourne's RMIT University, said the government's latest move appeared to be driven by growing evidence that many children continue to use restricted platforms.
Data released by the eSafety Commissioner in March showed that seven out of 10 underage children still had accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok after the ban came into effect.
She also cited a study published this week in the *British Medical Journal*, which found that 85% of surveyed Australian children aged 12 to 17 were still using restricted social media platforms.
"I do think it's failing," Given said, adding that many young people themselves had described the policy as ineffective.
According to ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’, Inman Grant said earlier this month that her office lacked sufficient authority to enforce the law effectively.
"What I would say is a regulator is only as good as the tools and the resources that they're given," she was quoted as saying.
The Associated Press sought comment from her office on Friday, but did not immediately receive a response.
Given said stronger enforcement powers or alternative regulatory measures may be needed, adding that courts would likely have to determine what qualifies as the "reasonable steps" platforms are legally required to take.
Albanese also said the government plans to move ahead with digital duty of care legislation, which would make online platforms more accountable for harm caused by their content and algorithms.
