Australia: eSafety published first Social Media Minimum Age compliance report and confirmed investigations into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for alleged non-compliance

On 31 March 2026, the eSafety Commissioner published the first compliance report on the Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) obligation and confirmed announced investigations into 5 platforms for alleged non-compliance, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. The SMMA obligation, which took effect on 10 December 2025, requires providers of age-restricted social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian children under the age of 16 from having accounts. The eSafety Commissioner had been monitoring 10 platforms and identified compliance concerns across 4 areas in the first three months of the obligation's operation. Firstly, some platforms prompted users with self-declared ages below 16 to undergo age assurance, enabling those users to obtain a 16-or-older outcome. Secondly, some platforms enabled repeated attempts at the same age assurance method, allowing users to circumvent age checks. Thirdly, reporting pathways for age-restricted accounts were found to be inaccessible or ineffective, particularly for parents and carers. Fourthly, some platforms implemented insufficient measures to prevent children under 16 from creating new accounts. The eSafety Commissioner noted that further evidence is required to establish non-compliance with the SMMA obligation and that enforcement action requires evidence that a platform has not implemented appropriate systems and processes, not merely that some children under 16 retain accounts. Available enforcement powers include infringement notices, enforceable undertakings, platform provider notifications, and civil penalties of up to AUD 49.5 million. The eSafety Commissioner aims to finalise at least some of the five investigations and make decisions on enforcement action by mid-2026.