Why are tech firms accused of doing the bare minimum on the ban?

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Tech Firms Accused of Minimal Compliance with Children's Social Media Ban

Australian tech companies are facing accusations of adopting a "bare minimum" approach to enforcing the country's social media ban for children under 16, prompting the government to consider doubling penalties and enhancing regulatory powers. Despite the ban, evidence suggests that a significant number of underage individuals continue to access social media platforms, with age-verification mechanisms proving easily circumvented. This ongoing issue has led the government to strengthen the eSafety Commissioner's ability to gather information and investigate potential non-compliance.
Ineffective Age-Verification Mechanisms Persist

Studies indicate that age-assurance tools implemented by social media platforms, such as selfie verification, are largely ineffective in preventing underage users from creating accounts. A study published in the British Medical Journal revealed that three months after the ban's implementation, 85% of Australian adolescents aged 12 to 15 were still using social media. A substantial portion of these underage users managed to bypass age checks by self-declaring an age over 16 or submitting a selfie that was accepted as belonging to an adult.
Platforms Blamed for Weak Deployment of Tools

The effectiveness of age-checking tools is reportedly hampered not by technological limitations, but by how these tools are deployed by the platforms themselves. An industry body representing tech suppliers pointed to the weak implementation of available age-verification tools by social media companies as the primary issue. Minister for Communications Anika Wells stated that platforms appear to be employing tactics to do the least possible to comply with the law, as evidenced by regular updates received by the eSafety Commissioner.
Government Strengthens Regulatory Oversight and Penalties

In response to these concerns, the Australian government is moving to double the maximum penalty for systematic failures to uphold the children's social media ban, increasing it from A$49.5 million to A$99 million. Furthermore, the government intends to bolster the information-gathering powers of the eSafety Commissioner. These planned updates will empower the regulator to compel social media companies to provide evidence of their compliance efforts and will also allow the collection of information from third parties, such as age-assurance providers and app store operators, to better scrutinise platform claims.
Significant Number of Underage Accounts Still Active

Since the social media ban was introduced, over 5 million accounts belonging to individuals under 16 have reportedly been deactivated or restricted. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly stated that despite this, "big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law" and that "too many children [are] still on social media." The government is actively investigating the potential non-compliance of major platforms including Meta's Instagram and Facebook, Google's YouTube, Snap's Snapchat, and TikTok.

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Why are tech firms accused of doing the bare minimum on the ban?

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