Australia raises its voice against TikTok and Instagram over the ban on under-16s

On Tuesday, March 31, Australia's online safety regulator launched an investigation into several tech giants suspected of failing to properly enforce the ban on social media for those under 16. This rule, adopted in December 2025, has made Australia a global testing ground for a sensitive and fraught issue: protecting minors, and their mental health, from apps that are all too adept at capturing attention. The message is clear, almost blunt: the era of polite reminders is coming to an end.

Speaking into the microphone, the head of the regulator, Julie Inman Grant, made no secret of her irritation. She expressed concern that some companies "may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law" and raised "serious concerns" about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. The tone has also changed in the approach: the regulator is now "adopting an enforcement stance." In other words, good intentions are no longer being discussed; results are being assessed.

Platforms urged to prove they know how to say no

The blind spot in all these laws remains: who verifies age, and how? In Australia, the responsibility lies with the platforms themselves, which are required to filter out minors without turning registration into an endless bureaucratic process. Some promote artificial intelligence, estimating age from photos, while others mention submitting an ID. On paper, it looks clean. In reality, we know the true value of a system when it clashes with the creativity of a teenager and the economic interests of an app that thrives on user numbers.

This time, the stakes are in the millions and in terms of public image. If they violate the law, the companies risk fines exceeding €25 million, with "increasing consequences," as Julie Inman Grant warned, particularly for their reputation with governments and consumers. The situation is being closely watched abroad: Indonesia has already announced summonses for Meta and Google for "non-compliance" with a similar ban, and in France, the Senate is debating a restriction for those under 15. Australia is testing the strength of digital promises, and the rest of the world is watching to see if, this time, the rule will hold up against the algorithms.