Melbourne (Australia), Dec. 4 (LaPresse) – Social media platforms will have to report monthly the number of underage accounts shut down once Australia begins enforcing the age limit of 16 starting next week. This was announced by Communications Minister Anika Wells. Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube risk fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (28.33 million euros) from December 10 if they do not take reasonable measures to remove accounts belonging to Australian minors under the age of 16. The live-streaming service Twitch was added to the list of platforms with age restrictions less than two weeks ago. On December 11, the Australian eSafety Commissioner will send the 10 platforms a notice requesting information on the number of accounts removed. Monthly notices will follow for six months. “The government recognises that age verification may take several days or weeks to be completed fairly and accurately,” Wells said at the National Press Club of Australia. “However, if eSafety identifies systemic violations of the law, the platforms will be subject to fines,” she added. The eSafety regulator stated that a court will apply the maximum penalty if the platform has committed repeated violations.
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