Australia to impose 16-year-old age limit on social media next week and fines of up to $33 million

Social media platforms will have to report monthly on how many children’s accounts they have closed after Australia’s 16-year age limit comes into force next week, a minister said on Wednesday.

FacebookInstagram, Kik, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and youtube They will be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) from December 10 if they fail to take appropriate steps to remove the accounts of Australian children under 16. livestreaming service cramps Was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago.

The Australian eSafety Commissioner will send a notice to 10 platforms on December 11 seeking information about the number of accounts removed. Monthly notices will be followed for six months.

“The government recognizes that age assurance may require several days or weeks to be completed fairly and accurately,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told the National Press Club of Australia.

“However, if eSafety identifies systemic violations of the law, the platform will face fines,” she said. The eSafety regulator said the court will impose the maximum penalty if the platform has repeated violations.

Google It said on Wednesday that from December 10, anyone under the age of 16 in Australia will be signed out of its platform YouTube and features available only to account holders such as playlists will be lost.

Google will determine the age of YouTube account holders based on personal data and other signals present in the respective Google Accounts.

“We have consistently said that this rushed legislation misunderstands our platform, the way young Australians use it and, most importantly, it does not deliver on its promise to make children safer online,” a statement from Google said.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said suspicious young children would be removed from those platforms starting Thursday.

Account holders age 16 and older who were accidentally deleted can contact Yoti Age Verification and verify their age by providing a government-issued ID or video selfie, Meta said.

Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project is expecting the High Court to issue an injunction to stop the law from taking effect next week.

A court hearing date had not been set as of Wednesday.

“In the coming months, we will fight to defend this law in the High Court as parents across Australia call on the government to step up,” Wells said.

Last month, the Malaysian government said it would ban social media accounts of children under 16 from 2026.

Wells said the European Commission, France, Denmark, Greece, Romania and New Zealand were also interested in setting a minimum age for social media.