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(Bloomberg) — Australia will grant its online safety watchdog more powers and increase the maximum penalty for breaches of its world-first social media ban, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying big tech companies are not doing enough to comply.
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Under proposed legislation, the maximum penalty for social media companies that fail to prevent children under 16 from holding social media accounts would rise to A$99 million ($68 million), the government said in a statement.
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The legislation would also allow the eSafety Commissioner to compel social media companies to provide evidence of the steps they have taken to stop under-16s from obtaining accounts.
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“It’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law — there are still too many children on social media,” Albanese said in the statement.
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The online safety watchdog is investigating potential breaches at Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, the government said.
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More than 5 million accounts have been deactivated since the ban came into effect in December. Still, an observational study involving over 400 adolescents conducted by the University of Newcastle found that more than 85% of participants aged under 16 reported using social media during the three months after the ban came into effect.
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Australia’s rules have prompted similar moves around the world. More than two dozen countries have said they are considering or moving toward restrictions of their own, including Indonesia, Brazil and Canada.
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The UK this month proposed banning under-16s from using social media, with plans to introduce legislation in Parliament before Christmas.
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