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Australia is set to take major social media companies to court over alleged failures to enforce its ban on users under 16. The planned legal action could target Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube as the government steps up efforts to protect children online.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said she expected proceedings to move forward against the five platforms, according to a Bloomberg report published on October 20, 2026. Australia's online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, has been gathering evidence for potential cases in the Federal Court.
The law requires covered platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts. The government is now examining whether the companies have done enough to meet that obligation.
The eSafety Commissioner launched investigations into the five platforms in March 2026 to determine whether they were complying with the new restrictions. The probe followed concerns that some children could continue using existing accounts or create new ones despite the ban.
A report released in July found that many under-16 users were still able to access social media, partly because of weaknesses in age-verification systems. Regulators have raised concerns about platforms relying on users to declare their age and allowing repeated attempts at age checks.
Australia has increased the maximum penalty for breaches to AUD 109.2 million (about USD 76 million). The regulator also has expanded powers to demand documents and question current and former employees as it builds its cases.
The penalties are intended to push platforms to take stronger steps to prevent underage users from accessing their services. However, any legal action will need to establish that the companies failed to meet their obligations under the law.
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The planned cases mark a tougher phase in Australia's effort to enforce its age restrictions. When the ban took effect in December 2025, technology companies reported removing millions of suspected underage accounts. Reports of children continuing to access platforms have since raised questions about how effectively those measures work.
The outcome could have implications beyond Australia, as governments elsewhere consider stricter rules for children's access to social media. For now, the regulator's evidence-gathering process will determine how the cases proceed and whether the companies face penalties.
