Overview

• Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant are meeting Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube this week, with a separate session with X scheduled for November.
• From December 10, platforms must take reasonable steps to stop under‑16s from holding accounts or risk substantial penalties for systemic failures.
• Regulators expect layered age‑assurance using AI and behavioural signals rather than universal ID checks, reflecting findings that no single solution fits all services.
• Google told a Senate inquiry the law will be extremely difficult to enforce and could have unintended consequences, arguing YouTube should not be classified as social media and warning that logged‑out access would remove parental controls.
• The government plans a public information campaign to clarify which services are covered, and TikTok, Snap and Meta skipped the inquiry appearance despite meeting the minister.