Anika Wells says Australia has known ‘all summer’ under-16s were circumnavigating social media ban

Communication Minister Anika Wells says the Australian Government has known “all summer” that under-16s were circumnavigating the social media ban but claims the “law isn’t failing”.

Australia has spruiked the ban globally and claimed it was a success in January after almost five million accounts were shut down. But there had been no prosecutions.

A progress report published by eSafety on Tuesday also showed children aged under 16 continued to report harm online after the ban’s December 10 implementation.

The findings, which were drawn from almost 900 surveyed parents as well as widespread consultation sessions, claimed “there has not been a discernible drop” in harm.

Ms Wells insisted the government was taking on tech giants but claimed it wasn’t as easy as a police officer writing a speeding fine.

She also revealed the online safety watchdog was investigating Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for not complying with the “world-first” laws.

“Five million accounts being deactivated or removed is a remarkable figure. They have not all been reopened again,” she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

“That isn’t the law failing. That isn’t Australian parents or Australian kids not complying, that is big tech taking the piss.”

Ms Wells said there were no prosecutions because the watchdog had “spent the summer building that evidence base”.

“And all the stories that no doubt you have all heard, the stories that I have heard all summer about how kids are getting around that, we have been collating that evidence so the eSafety Commissioner can go to the federal court and win against big tech,” she said.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant — who broke with tradition by skipping Tuesday’s press conference — said in a statement that it “takes time” to gather “sufficient evidence”.

“The evidence must establish the platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account,” she said.

“That means more than simply demonstrating some children do still have accounts. Rather, the evidence must show the platform has not implemented appropriate systems and processes.”

When asked about the potential timeline for prosecution, Ms Wells said it was “a question for the eSafety Commissioner”.

“That is her power under the law,” she said.

“I meet constantly with the eSafety Commissioner. What we decided was providing you with the compliance update today was a really helpful way for you to see transparently where we are up to.”

The Albanese government rushed to make last minute changes to its landmark ban on Friday ahead of High Court challenges to the ban by Reddit and two teen plaintiffs from Sydney linked to the advocacy group Digital Freedom Project.

The quietly published update to the rules listed tighter definitions of what a social media platform is, including features like algorithms which recommend content and display it through endless feeds, feedback features or time-limited features.

When asked on Tuesday if that change would now rule gaming platforms out of potentially being included in the ban, Ms Wells said the apps “absolutely” remain on notice.

“If they can’t clean up their act, and if the harm the eSafety Commissioner detected on their platform remains there, then we will act,” she said.

It comes as Indonesia implemented a similar social media ban for children this week which included controversial gaming platform Roblox.

The regional neighbour is among several other nations which have begun exploring a similar law.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Australia’s world-leading ban on social media during her rare address to Federal Parliament last week.

She had been among world leaders to attend an event Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year to spruik Australia’s efforts on the ban.

Ms Wells said she was aware the “world was watching” and claimed no global counterparts she’s discussed the laws which have questioned if it isn’t working.

“I’ve had a lot of bilateral meetings with my counterparts,” she said.

“Not a single person to me has yet said ‘are you worried this isn’t working?’.

“When people discovered that there’s about 1.3 million Australians aged between 13 and 16 and five million accounts have been deactivated and removed as part of these laws.

“People see that as a reason to act, and that’s why you’ve seen a dozen countries come online and follow Australia since 10 December.”