Australia Says Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube Failing Child Safety Law

Australia's internet regulator has formally flagged five of the world's biggest social media platforms for suspected breaches of the country's landmark under-16 social media ban, opening the door to penalties of up to A$49.5 million and raising urgent questions about whether the law can actually be enforced.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Google's YouTube had been flagged for potential noncompliance, with the watchdog gathering evidence for possible penalties and a decision expected by mid-year.

Inman Grant released her first compliance report since the laws took effect demanding 10 platforms remove all Australian account-holders younger than 16. While 5 million Australian accounts had been deactivated, a substantial number of Australian children continued to retain accounts, create new accounts and pass platforms' age assurance systems. Inman Grant said her office had "significant concerns about the compliance" of half of those 10 platforms.

The regulator identified "poor practices" including platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass age assurance methods and prompting users to try again even after they had declared themselves underage. Officials described the platforms as doing the "absolute bare minimum," warning that weak implementation could undermine the law's intent and deter other countries from adopting similar rules.

The platforms pushed back with varying degrees of directness. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it was committed to complying with Australia's social media ban, adding that "accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry." Snap Inc. said it had locked 450,000 accounts in compliance with the law and continued to lock more every day, stating that "Snapchat remains fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation." TikTok declined to comment, and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australian officials have made no secret of their frustration, with one stating plainly that platforms "don't want these laws to work" because their business models depend on younger users having easy access. The same official pointed to the stakes for global regulation: "This is the world-leading law. We're the first in the world to do it."

The announcement marks the government's first public assessment of compliance with the law, which is being studied closely by policymakers globally. Neither children nor their parents face penalties for circumventing the ban, but social media platforms may be fined up to A$49.5 million for systemic noncompliance.

The finding complicates Australia's claim to regulatory leadership at a critical moment. Regulators in the United Kingdom and European Union have been watching closely to see whether Canberra's approach is both workable and enforceable. If platforms do not demonstrate measurable improvement before the mid-year deadline, the eSafety office may seek more prescriptive technical mandates, restrict platform features outright, or pursue formal enforcement action, setting a precedent that would reverberate well beyond Australia's borders.