Australia Doubles Fines for Social Media Firms Breaking Under-16 Ban

Australia doubled the maximum penalty for social media companies that fail to block users under 16. The increase follows evidence that many children continue to access platforms despite the nationwide restriction introduced in December.

Canberra introduced the first-in-the-world legislation in December, blocking all children from all major platforms. Teens have found inventive ways around the laws, whether by drawing on a mustache to fool age-verification scans or using VPNs. Since the law took effect, dozens of other countries have begun moving toward, or implementing, similar plans.

A study followed 400 children before and after the ban was introduced, and found relatively little change in social media use rates. The authors concluded that the ban was “unlikely” to have its intended positive effects on teen mental health.

“The ban was unlikely to have its intended positive effects on teen mental health.”