Australia tightens ban on children's use of social media and increases fines
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SYDNEY, June 27 (Reuters) - Australia announced on Saturday it will increase the maximum fine that can be imposed on technology companies found to be failing to comply with an unprecedented ban on children's use of social media, amid growing evidence that the ban has had little impact on children's use of these platforms.
The government will increase the information-gathering powers granted to the eSafety Commission, the body responsible for regulating the internet, which will allow it to compel social media companies to provide evidence of the measures they have taken to prevent those under 16 from creating accounts.
Under these amendments, the maximum penalty for repeated non-compliance with the ban increases from A$49.5 million to A$99 million (US$68 million).
The government reiterated that the eSafety Commission is currently investigating the potential non-compliance of five platforms: Instagram and Facebook (both owned by Meta), YouTube (owned by Google), Snapchat (owned by Snap), and TikTok.
(US$1 = 1.4499 Australian dollars)