Australia doubles down on social media law
The Albanese Government is leaving no stone unturned holding big tech to account, strengthening the investigative powers of the eSafety Commissioner and doubling fines. Amendments to the social media minimum age law passed by Parliament ensure the eSafety Commissioner has the right tools to enforce compliance with the law. This includes doubling the maximum penalty to $109.2 million, which is in line with penalties available under consumer and competition law.
The amendments strengthen the independent regulator’s information-gathering powers by: enabling eSafety to demand information and documents from social media companies and third parties, such as age assurance or app-store providers, as evidence of compliance giving eSafety the power to summon a person, such as an executive or former employee of a social media platform, to give evidence and answer questions to assist with investigations into platform compliance.
The legislation also significantly increases the infringement notice amount the eSafety Commissioner can use to fine social media platforms for not meeting their obligations under the law. Breaching the social media minimum age obligation or failing to provide an alternative to government ID for age assurance could attract a fine of up to $21.8 million under the changes, while failing to comply with an information-gathering notice could result in a $364,000 fine.
These fines can be applied as a quick and effective alternative to court proceedings, with the increased amounts providing a more meaningful deterrent to non-compliance. Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, Anika Wells: “Today the Albanese Government has doubled down on our efforts to hold social media companies to account for harming young Australians, giving eSafety the tools and fines needed enforce our world-leading law.
“Australian parents and teachers know that social media companies are pulling out every trick in the big-tech playbook to keep kids on social media. “The Coalition did everything they could to block these changes – proving once again they will always put politics before parents and Australian families. “Our message to big tech could not be clearer – if you want to do business in Australia, you must follow Australian laws.
“I expect the eSafety Commissioner to use these new powers to the fullest extent to hold big tech accountable. “Together with the Digital Duty of Care, we are creating basic safety standards with big fines, just like every other industry has. Australia is once again leading the world when it comes to online safety.”