WEBVTT

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Australia's online safety watchdog is considering
legal action against social media giants

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including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, alleging
they have failed to keep children under 16

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of their platforms. The first compliance report since
the ban's implementation on 10th of December found that

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a substantial number of children continue to
bypass age assurance systems, and that half

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of the monitor platforms are not taking
reasonable steps to prevent underage access

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Communications Minister Annika Wells accused
the companies of deliberately doing the absolute

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bare minimum to undermine the legislation to
discourage other nations from following Australia's

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lead. As of early March, 5 million social
media accounts have been deactivated or removed

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We have seen some progress, but the e-safety
compliance update released today lays bare the

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facts. Australia's world-leading social media laws
are not failing, but big tech is failing to obey

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the laws. Court could now impose fines up
to 30 million euros for systemic failures

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with a final decision on court action expected by
media. In response, Meta stated that determining

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age online remains an industry-wide challenge,
while Snapchat reported locking 450,000 accounts

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to date. Meanwhile, Reddit and Digital Freedom
Project have filed constitutional challenges in

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the high court, arguing the ban infringes upon
the implied freedom of political communication

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A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 21st of May