Social media giants face fines for failing to hand over documents

Sensitive documents target of Australia's social media age ban crackdown Tue 30 Jun 2026 at 4:47am In short: Labor wants to double the fines for tech giants who refuse to hand over documents that could prove they are failing to enforce Australia’s social media age ban. The eSafety Commissioner remains concerned that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are not taking steps to enforce the restrictions and has welcomed new powers to pursue the companies. What's next? The federal government is seeking to get the laws passed through parliament as soon as possible amid fears tech companies are "taking the mickey". Tech giants that refuse to hand over documents related to their enforcement of Australia's social media age ban face fines of up to $1.65 million under new legislation. Widespread concerns social media companies are failing to take reasonable steps to block Australians younger than 16 from their platforms sparked the tougher legislation introduced to parliament by Labor on Monday. The eSafety Commissioner has confirmed it remains particularly alarmed that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat are not complying with the minimum age restrictions, which came into effect in December last year. New laws put forward by Labor double the fine for failing to keep underage Australians off the platform to $99 million and give eSafety the ability to compel the release of documents in its investigations into "systemic neglect" by the tech companies to enforce the ban. The social media giants and third parties such as age verification providers can be required to hand over internal emails, directions to branches of the company responsible for implementation of the social media age ban, or board minutes. Failure to do so would result in a fine of up to $1.65 million. Currently companies are only required to provide select information related to the ban on a monthly basis, but Communications and Sport Minister Anika Wells said the government believed the tech giants had been "taking the mickey" with this approach. "There's a lot of faff around that and essentially [the eSafety Commissioner] has to take them at their word," she said. In the months since the ban took effect about five million accounts linked to Australians aged under 16 have been deactivated. But no social media company has been fined, despite early research suggesting a majority of Australian teens have found ways around the restrictions. Ms Wells said the tech companies wanted Australia's laws to "fail", and she was confident the changes proposed by Labor would assist the eSafety Commissioner. "My message to parents is this: Our laws have made an impact and we are not stopping, because just today I heard of a 13-year-old who opened a new social media account and wasn't even asked her age," she said. "It's simply not good enough." Major platforms remain a 'concern' A spokesperson for eSafety said the agency welcomed the proposed "enhancements" to its information gathering powers to investigate potential non-compliance with the social media laws. "eSafety stands ready to deploy any new regulatory tool should proposed legislation be passed by parliament," the spokesperson said in a statement. "In the meantime, eSafety is continuing to use its existing tools to maximum effect, holding technology companies to account and protecting Australian children." The spokesperson said while the agency had observed "some improvements" from the industry since March, it remained "concerned" about the compliance of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wanted the new laws to pass "as soon as possible" so the government could take further action against the tech companies. "We won't blink on this," he said. Mr Albanese paid tribute to former Coalition leader Peter Dutton, who backed the initial ban last term, and said he hoped the stronger laws would receive a similar level of bipartisanship. Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said she was "not surprised" Labor was having to retrofit the social media laws as they had always been "set to fail". "You've got to force the companies to make their platforms safer," she said. Senator Hanson-Young said this would be achieved through preventing companies from harvesting and selling users' data and tackling harmful algorithms. "It's the algorithms that really are designed to suck you in and to make you doomscroll," she said. Education and law vital, parent says Victorian father Wayne Holdsworth, whose son took his own life in 2023, has campaigned with several parents for Australia's social media age ban. "Our son Mac took his life at 17, partly because he was sexually extorted online," he said. "Our aim … has been to ensure that no-one goes through the pain that [our children] went through and subsequently their parents and family and friends," he said. He said the laws were a "moving feast" and would get "better and better" with each iteration. Mr Holdsworth, who launched mental health awareness program SmackTalk in the wake of his son's death, said the combination of legislation, fines and education was key to his goal of protecting young people from the harms of social media. Social media giants' response muted The major tech companies have not yet publicly responded to the legislation introduced by Labor on Monday. But earlier this month, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, released a statement outlining how the company had been "proactively identifying and removing accounts" believed to be held by Australians aged under 16. Meta said it was investing in detecting underage accounts with AI by reviewing profiles, posts, comments and bios, as well as making it "easier" for parents to report young users and preventing "re-registration" by teens who had previously been blocked. The company has also been trialling new visual detection technology to scan photos and videos for "clues" about a person's age. "We're testing this to help detect under-13 accounts in select countries ahead of a broader rollout, which will include detecting under-16s in Australia," the statement from Meta said.