‘Major gaps’ in u16 social media enforcement: eSafety
The platform aren't doing enough to stop underaged social media use, the eSafety commissioner says
The eSafety Commission’s first report on the under-16s social media ban has found Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube have “major gaps” in their compliance with the law.
The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant appeared on Nine’s Today this morning, where she expressed “significant concerns” regarding the current levels of compliance.
Since December 10, the law requires that Australians under 16 be denied access to social media platforms, including Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Youtube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. The onus on policing the legislation lies with the platforms.
“While social media platforms have taken some initial action, I am concerned through our compliance monitoring that some may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law,” Grant said. She warned that eSafety is shifting towards an “enforcement stance” that may see the tech giants hit with fines of up to $49.5m for non-compliance.
The report, due to be issued on Tuesday, notes the platforms had some initial progress in the first three months of the ban, they haven’t kept pace. It notes some platforms continue to push underaged users towards the age assurance tools despite previously declaring themselves to be under 16, and don’t feature an “accessible or effective” system to report suspected underaged account holders.
“Any enforcement action requires sufficient evidence, which takes time to gather,” Grant said.
“The evidence must establish the platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account. That means more than simply demonstrating some children do still have accounts. Rather, the evidence must show the platform has not implemented appropriate systems and processes.
“Durable, generational change takes time – but these platforms have the capability to comply today and we certainly expect companies operating in Australia to comply with our safety laws.
“They can choose to do so or face escalating consequences, including profound reputational erosion with governments and consumers globally.”
Related Content
SUBSCRIBE
Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.
Any attempt to restrict digital content is doomed to fail. Kids will find a way, or they will move somewhere else. The answer to keeping kids safe is the same as it has been with every technological moral panic – parents need to do their best to be engaged, and guiding their children in how they engage with media.
The porn ban can be circumvented with the free VPN included in the Opera browser that is free to anyone, iPhone or Android. And that’s before the other alternative which will always be there – to simply google a site that doesn’t comply with the ban. If any of that sounds complicated to you – I promise it is child’s play.
> The answer to keeping kids safe is the same as it has been with every technological moral panic
… make parenting harder. Yeah, no wonder people keep having fewer children.
In reality, it doesn’t matter that much if *some* kids get around the ban. The fewer kids are on social media, the easier it is for *other* kids, especially those who don’t even want to be on social media, to stay off it.