Australia Watchdog Says Weighing Action in Social Media Probe

Australia’s online safety watchdog said it continues to investigate whether Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms are breaching the country’s minimum age rules, while evaluating next steps.

The eSafety Commissioner said in March it was investigating Facebook and Instagram — both owned by Meta Platforms Inc. — TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube for potentially failing to adhere to the law. The legislation requires the companies to take reasonable steps to stop underage users from holding social media accounts, part of a bid to protect them from harmful online content.

“These investigations are ongoing, and eSafety is continuing to gather and assess evidence to determine whether further regulatory action is warranted,” an eSafety spokesperson said in an email Wednesday. “We will provide an update when we are in a position to do so. We have no further comment at this stage.”

Communications Minister Anika Wells said this week she expected Australia to pursue legal action against the social media firms for non-compliance with the ban legislation. Asked in an interview in Sydney on Monday if legal action can be expected against the five platforms, Wells said: “Yes.” She added: “It’s not my decision, but I would expect it.”

An eSafety report in July found most underage social media users were able to keep their accounts or create new ones, largely due to a lack of effective age checks on the platforms.

Read More: Australia’s Social Media Ban Sees Only Small Dip in Teen Users

The eSafety Commissioner is an independent regulator, though part of the government and accountable to Australia’s parliament through the communications minister, a position currently held by Wells.