Courts Enforce Social Media Teen Ban

Australia is moving from guidance to legal enforcement by preparing Federal Court action against major platforms (Meta, Google/YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok) for allegedly failing to keep under-16s off their services. The regulator's compliance report documents specific failures — repeated bypassable age checks, lack of age-inference, and poor reporting pathways — and the government is collecting evidence to pursue civil fines. — If courts become the primary enforcers of age-restriction laws, expect fast policy-driven shifts in age-verification tech, platform design, cross-border enforcement pressure, and debates over privacy versus child protection.