Indonesia and Australia Angry as Google Meta Refuse to Protect Children on Social Media
Late last year, Australia became the first country to enforce sweeping social media restrictions, banning users under 16. But many underage users quickly found ways to bypass age verification systems — exposing major loopholes.
Indonesia followed with a similar law earlier this month — platforms must verify ages and deactivate underage accounts. The global movement grows as Malaysia and Spain also consider similar social media bans for children.
Tech giants fought back hard. Meta argued parents should decide which apps teens use. Google claimed banning kids would push them to use YouTube without accounts, losing parental controls and safety filters entirely.
On Monday, Indonesia’s minister Meutya Hafid summoned Google and Meta officials, declaring YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Threads were violating the law. Last week, a US jury also found these platforms harmed a young user.
On Tuesday, Australia’s eSafety Commission revealed platforms were letting users repeatedly attempt age checks until they passed. Fines could reach $33 million. Nearly 5 million teen accounts were already removed in the first month.
In Indonesia, only X and Bigo Live fully complied with the law. TikTok and Roblox showed only partial compliance. The government warned — violators face administrative fines, temporary suspension, and complete termination of market access.
