Australian authorities are implementing stringent new digital age verification protocols that mandate major social media platforms to systematically identify and remove accounts belonging to users under 16 years old. Beginning December 10, technology giants including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, along with TikTok, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, and Twitch face potential penalties reaching AU$50 million (approximately US$33 million) for non-compliance with these youth protection measures.
The Australian eSafety Commission will initiate enforcement by issuing formal information requests to ten designated platforms on December 11, requiring detailed monthly reports on account removal statistics over a six-month monitoring period. Communications Minister Anika Wells emphasized that while platforms require reasonable timeframes for accurate age verification procedures, systemic violations would trigger substantial financial penalties through judicial proceedings.
Google’s YouTube implementation involves automatically signing out Australian users under 16 from December 10, restricting access to account-specific features. The company utilizes associated Google account data and behavioral signals for age assessment, though it criticized the legislation as fundamentally misunderstanding youth platform engagement and failing to enhance online safety.
Meta has initiated preemptive removal of suspected underage accounts from its platforms, establishing an age verification process through Yoti Age Verification that permits mistakenly removed users to validate their age via government identification or video selfies.
The Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project is pursuing High Court intervention to block the legislation, though no hearing date had been established as of Wednesday. Minister Wells affirmed the government’s commitment to defending the law, citing widespread parental support for enhanced digital protections.
This Australian regulatory approach has attracted international attention, with Malaysia announcing similar restrictions effective 2026, and several European nations including France, Denmark, and Greece reportedly considering comparable minimum age requirements for social media access.