The Australian government said it was investigating five social media platforms for failing to comply with a world-first social media ban on children under 16.
In its first report on social media minimum age requirements, the Australian federal government's eSafety Commissioner said it had "serious concerns" about the compliance of social media giants, including Facebook and Instagram, with the laws that came into force in December last year.
Under the law, social media companies that fail to take adequate steps to prevent children under 16 from accessing their platforms could face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars or approximately 33.9 million US dollars.
The eSafety Commissioner's report said it found "poor practices," including platforms allowing children to try age verification methods repeatedly to get a 16+ result, and failing to provide channels for reporting age-restricted accounts.
The report stated that the five platforms had been notified of the specific issues and investigations into potential non-compliance had been initiated.
In a statement, Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said she hoped the online safety watchdog would "impose sanctions" on companies that systematically fail to meet their legal obligations.
"If these companies want to do business in Australia, they have to comply with Australian law," he said.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said her office is now entering the enforcement phase regarding the social media ban.
