MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday criticized a Senate decision to delay legislation that would expand enforcement powers for the country’s online safety regulator, arguing the postponement could allow technology companies to remove material that may later be sought as evidence in investigations. Associated Press reported that the proposed changes are intended to strengthen enforcement of Australia’s pioneering social media restrictions for children under 16.
The amendments, introduced to Parliament this week by the Labor government, would broaden the authority of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to require social media platforms to provide documents detailing their efforts to prevent children under 16 from maintaining accounts on services including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The current law allows the commissioner to request information but not supporting documents.
The proposed legislation was referred on Thursday to an eight-week Senate inquiry after receiving support from the opposition Liberal Party and the Australian Greens. Because the governing Labor Party does not hold a Senate majority, the inquiry will delay consideration of the enforcement measures.
Albanese argued the delay could undermine future regulatory action. Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corp., he said postponing the legislation would provide platforms with an opportunity to delete records before the regulator gains authority to compel their production. He added that immediate passage would have enabled the commissioner to begin issuing formal requests and, where appropriate, pursue financial penalties.
Expanded Regulatory Powers
Beyond expanding document requests, the legislation would authorize the eSafety Commissioner to seek information from third parties, including companies that develop age-assurance technologies. The additional authority is intended to help verify claims made by digital platforms about measures designed to prevent children from bypassing Australia’s age restrictions.
The bill would also increase the maximum financial penalty for platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude underage users, doubling the current maximum to 99 million Australian dollars (about $68 million).
Opposition Calls for Closer Review
The proposal has drawn criticism from both the Greens and the conservative opposition, though for different reasons.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge questioned the value of increasing penalties when existing fines have not yet been imposed. He argued that simply raising the maximum penalty does not necessarily improve online safety for children.
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Opposition communications spokesperson Senator Sarah Henderson said the legislation deserved closer examination, describing the existing social media ban as ineffective and arguing that the government’s proposed amendments should be strengthened before becoming law.
International Attention on Australia’s Policy
Australia’s legislation, passed with broad parliamentary support in 2024, is regarded as one of the world’s first nationwide restrictions preventing children younger than 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms. Companies were given more than a year to implement the requirements before the rules took effect in December.
The policy has attracted significant international interest as governments in several countries consider introducing similar protections for minors using online platforms.
Government figures initially indicated that more than five million children’s accounts had been removed, deactivated or restricted after the law came into force. However, Australia’s eSafety regulator reported in March that roughly seven in 10 children who held accounts when the restrictions began continued using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
In April, Inman Grant said she was considering court action against those platforms, along with YouTube, alleging they had not taken reasonable steps to prevent underage users from accessing their services. She said other restricted platforms, including X, Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch, had made more satisfactory progress toward compliance.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said this week that monthly updates received from the eSafety regulator since March showed no meaningful improvement in platform compliance.
The Senate inquiry is expected to examine the proposed enforcement measures over the coming weeks before lawmakers decide whether the expanded regulatory powers should proceed.
Tags: Australia, Social Media, Child Safety, Anthony Albanese, Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner, Australian Senate, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Online Regulation, Digital Policy
