Australia to give regulator more power to pursue Big Tech over under-16 ban

Australia will introduce new laws in parliament on Monday to strengthen its under-16 social media ban and give its internet regulator more power to pursue tech giants in court for non-compliance.

The move follows the world-first restrictions that took effect in December, a policy being watched closely by many countries seeking to emulate it as evidence suggests children are still able to access the platforms.

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.

"We're calling time on the social media companies today and doubling down on the changes that we have made and that we're prepared to make," he told reporters in Canberra.

"Today, we'll introduce legislation this afternoon that goes further to ensure social media companies are doing everything within their power to stop children under 16 being on their platforms."

The regulator is investigating possible non-compliance by five platforms: Meta's META.O Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat SNAP.N, TikTok and Google's GOOGL.O YouTube.

There was no immediate comment from Meta, Google and Snapchat. TikTok declined to comment.

Albanese called on the conservative coalition opposition to back the bill, noting the original policy passed with bipartisan support.

The changes, announced on Sunday, would double fines to A$99 million ($68.2 million) from A$49.5 million.

They also give the eSafety Commissioner power to compel documents such as company board minutes and internal emails, ensuring legal cases being built against platforms failing to comply are as "strong as possible", said Communications Minister Anika Wells.

"My message to Big Tech is this: we are not stopping. Every effort you make to frustrate these laws will be met with our efforts to make these laws work," she said.

"If the eSafety Commissioner finds companies are not doing everything they can to comply, they will face the full force of the law."

($1 = 1.4518 Australian dollars)

-Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Additional reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Jacqueline Wong/Reuters