Australia investigates five major platforms over enforcement of under-16 social media ban

Which companies are being investigated?

The regulator said the investigations cover Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snap's Snapchat, TikTok and Google's YouTube Reuters,BBC.

What problems did the regulator identify?

eSafety said some platforms let underage users repeatedly retry age checks until they pass, do too little to stop banned users from opening new accounts, and still have major gaps in their enforcement systems Guardian,Bloomberg Business,La Voz de Galicia.

Why is this case drawing attention beyond Australia?

Australia's ban is described as a world-first or closely watched policy, and other governments are monitoring whether it can be enforced effectively before considering similar laws BBC,Reuters,Conversation.