Australia Doubles Social Media Fines to A$99M, Gives Regulator Subpoena Powers

A$99 million — that’s the new maximum fine for social media platforms that let kids under 16 stay on their services in Australia, double the previous A$49.5 million. And the regulator now gets subpoena-level access to board minutes and internal emails.

The Under-16 Ban Gets Teeth

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the new legislation on Monday, June 29, saying there are still too many children on social media and tech firms aren’t doing enough to comply with the world-first restrictions that took effect in December 2025. "We're calling time on the social media companies today and doubling down on the changes," he told reporters in Canberra.

The eSafety Commissioner is already investigating five platforms for possible non-compliance: Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Google’s YouTube. No comments from Meta, Google, or Snapchat; TikTok declined.

Board Minutes and Emails Now Fair Game

Communications Minister Anika Wells made it clear: if the eSafety Commissioner finds companies aren’t doing everything they can to comply, they’ll face "the full force of the law." The new powers let the regulator compel documents that would otherwise be locked inside corporate privilege, ensuring legal cases are "as strong as possible."

Wells directly addressed Big Tech: "Every effort you make to frustrate these laws will be met with our efforts to make these laws work." The opposition coalition is being called on to back the bill after the original policy passed with bipartisan support.

The move signals that simple fines aren’t enough — Australia wants to see technical controls and enforcement logs, not press releases. If this works, expect other countries watching closely to copy the playbook.

Source: Australia to give regulator more power to pursue Big Tech over under-16 ban
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