Australia says Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube fall short on enforcing child account ban

Published  April 6, 2026 12:47pm EDT article (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MELBOURNE, Australia – Australia’s online safety watchdog said Tuesday it is considering legal action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, alleging the platforms are failing to adequately prevent children under 16 from accessing their services. What they’re saying: Experts say the Australian courts could decide what steps the platforms can reasonably be expected to take under the laws that took effect on Dec. 10 banning young children from holding accounts. Julie Inman Grant, who is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, on Tuesday released her first compliance report since those laws took effect demanding 10 platforms remove all Australian account-holders younger than 16. RELATED: Snapchat under investigation by EU over alleged failure to protect children on app Inman Grant said in a statement her office had “significant concerns about the compliance” of half of those 10 platforms. Her office was gathering evidence against the five that they had not taken “reasonable steps” to prevent young children holding accounts. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the five criticized platforms were deliberately not complying with Australian law. “Social media platforms are choosing to do the absolute bare minimum because they want
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