Australia says Meta, TikTok, YouTube not complying with child social media ban – TNW

Three months after Australia became the first country in the world to ban children under 16 from holding social media accounts, its online safety regulator says the platforms are not doing enough to make the ban work. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant released her first compliance report on Tuesday, alleging that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube have failed to take the “reasonable steps” the law requires to keep young Australians off their services. The numbers tell a story of partial progress and substantial failure. Since the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act took effect on 10 December, some five million Australian accounts belonging to under-16s have been deactivated. But the compliance report, which surveyed 898 parents at the end of January, found that roughly seven in ten children who previously used social media still had an account on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok after the ban. Children are retaining accounts, creating new ones, and passing through  age assurance systems that appear unable to stop them. Inman Grant said her office had “significant concerns about the compliance” of half the ten platforms covered by the law. The five under investigation, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, could face
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