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

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

Perspective of The Greens (Australian political party)

• ▪The Greens argue that regulating social media algorithms would be more effective than age-based bans in protecting young people