Australia Set to Sue TikTok and Meta Over Teen Ban

The Australian government is reportedly pursuing legal action against social media providers that have failed to keep users under 16 out of their apps. Officials are trying to enforce teen social media restriction laws that were put in place in December 2025.

Court Action Over the Under-16 Ban

With those laws in place, Australia became the first nation to apply more stringent teen social media restrictions. The regulations give local authorities the right to seek financial penalties against social apps that fail to meet the new standards.

Bloomberg reported that Communications Minister Anika Wells said in an interview: "Australia's government is set to sue Facebook, TikTok and other major digital platforms for alleged non-compliance with a nationwide social media ban for under-16s."

According to that report, Wells flagged coming legal action against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. Wells, the nation's online safety regulator, said she is currently gathering evidence for proceedings in the federal court. Continued underage use is an issue the government may now be seeking to address.

Profile Removals and Ongoing Access

After the legislation, social apps reported the removal or suspension of hundreds of thousands of suspected teen user profiles. Initial reports on the impact of the ban showed that most underage users still accessed social apps.

"Reasonable Steps" and a Doubled Maximum Penalty

Current regulations stipulate that social platforms have to "take reasonable steps" to keep young users out of their apps. How "reasonable" is interpreted in this context could provide a legal loophole for the platforms to avoid liabilities.

The government did not provide specific guidance on the most effective approach. It said instead that several options were available for platforms to implement age restrictions.

The Australian government also doubled the maximum penalty for breaches of the social media minimum age law. Platforms could be hit with fines of $70 million for confirmed breaches.

That legal action could force major platforms to take more decisive action. Increased enforcement could prompt more definitive adherence, and it could lead platforms to adopt more comprehensive approaches as they look to avoid further penalties.

like.tg continues monitoring social media platform updates on Australia's under-16 enforcement.