Key facts
- Social media platforms' local heads testified at an Australian Senate inquiry.
- Studies indicate approximately 80% of minors continue to use social media platforms despite a ban on under-16 users.
- Executives from Google, Meta, Snapchat, and TikTok urged caution regarding the early data.
- Meta reported deactivating 756,000 suspected underage Instagram and Facebook accounts.
- Google has stopped approximately 740,000 underage account holders from using YouTube.
- TikTok has removed 550,000 accounts since the law took effect and continues to remove about 24,000 monthly.
- Lawmakers are considering doubling penalties to A$99 million and expanding regulators' investigative powers.
Top social media platforms have urged the Australian government not to place excessive reliance on early data suggesting that a significant majority of minors continue to use their services despite a recently implemented ban for under-16s. Executives from Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Snapchat, and TikTok appeared before a Senate inquiry, where lawmakers highlighted studies, including one from Australia's eSafety Commissioner, indicating that around 80% of minors remained active on social media months after the ban took effect in December.
During the hearing, YouTube's head of government relations, Rachel Lord, cautioned against over-reliance on the data, describing it as a "point in time" and "very early on." She noted that age assurance technologies have largely been developed for an 18-year-old cut-off and are still evolving to accurately detect users at the 16-year-old boundary. Meta's Australia head of public policy, Mia Garlick, suggested that survey data can be challenging, with potential discrepancies between stated usage and actual account ownership. She also pointed out that data might not accurately reflect whether underage users possess an account, even if they claim to use a platform.
Meta reported that it had deactivated 756,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to underage users, an increase from approximately 500,000 in March. Similarly, YouTube's Lord stated that Google had stopped about 740,000 holders of Google accounts from using their accounts to access YouTube. TikTok's Australian head of public policy, Jessica Loftstedt, described the company's compliance efforts as an "iterative process," noting that the company had removed 550,000 accounts when the law was enacted and had since been removing around 24,000 accounts per month.
The Senate inquiry is examining proposed amendments that would double the maximum penalties for non-compliance to A$99 million ($64 million) and grant the eSafety Commissioner expanded powers to compel information and documents from platforms and their third-party age assurance providers during investigations. The eSafety Commissioner is expected to testify later on Friday.