Australia to enforce social media age limit of 16 next week with fines up to $33 million

Melbourne, Australia — Social media platforms must report monthly on the number of children’s accounts they close once Australia begins implementing a 16-year-old age cap next week, a minister said on Wednesday.

Note: Video from a previous report.

Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Streaming service Twitch was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago.

The Australian Cyber ​​Safety Commissioner will send notices to the 10 platforms on December 11 demanding information about the number of accounts that have been removed. Monthly notices will follow for six months.

“The government recognizes that age assurance may require several days or weeks to complete fairly and accurately,” Communications Minister Annika Wells told the National Press Club of Australia.

“However, if eSafety identifies systematic violations of the law, the platforms will face fines,” she added. The Electronic Safety Regulatory Authority said that the court will apply the penalty to the maximum extent if the platform commits repeated violations.

Google said on Wednesday that anyone in Australia under the age of 16 will be logged out of its YouTube platform from December 10 and will lose features that only account holders can access such as playlists.

Google will determine the ages of YouTube account holders based on personal data in linked Google accounts and other signals.

“We have consistently said this hasty legislation misunderstands our platform, the way young Australians use it, and, most importantly, falls short of its promise to make children safer online,” a Google statement said.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said suspected pedophiles would be removed from those platforms starting Thursday.

Account holders 16 or older who were mistakenly removed can contact Yoti Age Verification and verify their age by providing government-issued ID or a video selfie, Meta said.

The Sydney-based digital freedom project hopes the Supreme Court will issue an injunction preventing the law from coming into force next week.

A court hearing date had not been set as of Wednesday.

“Over the coming months, we will be fighting to defend this law in the Supreme Court because parents… across Australia have asked the government to step up its efforts,” Wells said.

Last month, the Malaysian government said it would ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16 from 2026.

The European Commission, France, Denmark, Greece, Romania and New Zealand are also interested in setting a minimum age for social media use, Wells said.