Lorraine Finlay said introducing tougher penalties and stronger powers without sufficient scrutiny was unlikely to fix weaknesses in the Albanese government’s social media ban.

The Australian government says big tech is doing the bare minimum, and it's about to make non-compliance a lot more expensive.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia plans to double potential fines for social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, who fail to prevent Australian children from…

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there were still too many children on social media and tech firms were not doing enough to comply with the law.

The government has introduced laws allowing the eSafety Commissioner to compel companies to hand over internal documents to prove they tried to enforce the under-16 ban.

Australia’s new bill would double Big Tech fines to A$99m and let the eSafety Commissioner compel board minutes and internal emails.

New changes will make it easier to gather evidence, government says

The maximum penalty for social media providers that fail to keep under 16’s off their platforms is now 99 million AUD (about $68.2 million), double the original maximum fine when…

Australia's government said tech companies are "not doing enough" to keep children off social media sites. In addition to the doubling of potential penalties, the eSafety…

Australia introduced new legislation in Parliament on Monday to strengthen enforcement of its under-16 social media ban and give its internet regulator more power to pursue tech…

“We can all agree we would like the scheme to work better than it is currently, but that is on Big Tech taking the Mickey," Minister Anika Wells said.

Australian government to boost maximum penalty for breaches of youth social media ban to A$99m, arguing firms not doing enough

Lorraine Finlay said introducing tougher penalties and stronger powers without sufficient scrutiny was unlikely to fix weaknesses in the Albanese government’s social media ban.