Australia doubles social media ban penalties to $99M as children continue bypassing under-16 restrictions

Jun 27, 2026

Australia announced on June 27, 2026 that it will double maximum penalties for social media platforms breaching its under-16 age ban to $99 million, after research showed about 80% of children remained active on platforms three months after the law took effect on December 10, 2025. The new legislation will grant eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant stronger information-gathering powers and align penalties with other Australian competition law fines. Despite more than 5 million accounts being removed since implementation, experts like University of Sydney's Catherine Page Jeffery say stronger enforcement is needed, while the Greens push for algorithm regulation rather than age restrictions. A June 2026 Murdoch Children's Research Institute study found direct links between heavy social media use and poor mental health in adolescents aged 12-13, though warned age-based restrictions alone cannot eliminate all risks.

Social media ban penalty increase

▪The new Australian legislation will give eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant stronger information-gathering powers.
▪The Australian federal government announced on June 27, 2026 that it would introduce new legislation to double fines to $99 million for platforms that breach the social media ban.

Under-16 bypass rates

▪More than 5 million accounts have been removed, deactivated or restricted since the Australian social media ban was introduced on December 10, 2025.
▪About 80% of under-16s in Australia stated they remain on social media despite the ban.
▪Research in June 2026 suggested the majority of under-16s in Australia were bypassing age restrictions on social media.

Enforcement gaps

▪Jim Chalmers acknowledged that tech companies had not been doing enough to comply with the Australian social media ban.
▪Catherine Page Jeffery stated that stronger enforcement mechanisms are clearly needed for the Australian social media ban.
▪Catherine Page Jeffery stated that not much has changed for under-16s in Australia despite the social media ban being in early days.

Digital duty of care alternative

▪Catherine Page Jeffery stated that digital duty of care legislation would help protect all users from the harms of social media.
▪The Australian government has promised to legislate a digital duty of care, but is still consulting on what form it would take.
▪Sarah Hanson-Young stated that the Greens argued during the social media ban legislation debate that Australia needed to regulate the algorithms, not just the symptoms.
▪Elizabeth Handsley is a Western Sydney University law professor and president of Children and Media Australia.
▪The Greens called on June 28, 2026 for the Australian government to focus on digital duty of care legislation and use it to regulate social media algorithms.

Political criticism

▪Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson stated that the new penalties were an admission of failure by the Australian government.
▪Sarah Hanson-Young stated that the Greens would consider the new legislation increasing fines for non-compliance, but promised to push for action on algorithms.

Social media mental health research

▪The Murdoch Children's Research Institute study warned that age-based restrictions alone were unlikely to eliminate all risks from social media.
▪The Murdoch Children's Research Institute released a study in June 2026 which found a direct risk between heavy social media use and poor mental health in young people.
▪Catherine Page Jeffery is a senior lecturer in media and communications at the University of Sydney.
▪The Murdoch Children's Research Institute study found that adolescents aged between 12 and 13 were the most vulnerable to mental health risks from heavy social media use.