Overview

• Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant are holding meetings this week with Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, with a separate session with X scheduled for November.
• From December 10, platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent under‑16s from holding accounts, a world‑first rule backed by significant penalties for non‑compliance reported up to AU$49.5 million.
• Google told a Senate inquiry the ban will be extremely difficult to enforce and may not make children safer, arguing YouTube’s inclusion would remove parental controls and other safety features for teens using logged‑out access.
• Wells told platform executives there will be no exemptions, following Google’s push to exclude YouTube on the basis it is a video‑streaming service rather than social media.
• Regulators are directing a layered age‑assurance approach using AI and behavioural data, informed by a government trial that found no single solution, and the government is preparing a public campaign to explain the changes.