The fine for tech companies that doing too little to enforce Australia’s social media ban on children is being redoubled. The ban has had little effect so far, the Australian government says.

The maximum fine will be increased from 45.5 million to 99 million Australian dollars, equivalent to almost 60 million euros. The Australian internet watchdog eSafety Commission will also be given more powers.

For example, the regulator may force tech companies to provide evidence of the measures they have taken to prevent children under the age of 16 from creating an account.

The Australian government says eSafety Commission investigates whether or not Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok comply with the rules.’

More than five million children’s accounts have been deleted or restricted since the ban was introduced last December. Yet several studies show that the social media ban has little impact after six months.

This turned out to be one Australian research(opens in new window) among 408 young people aged 12 to 15 years 85 percent still had social media three months after the ban was introduced. They were able to circumvent the rules by indicating that they were over 16 years old. Also, according to other studies, children are not asked their age or facial scans do not always work properly.

Australia was the first in the world to ban social media for children. Other countries also subsequently decided to restrict the use of social media for children.

For example, the United Kingdom announced a similar ban last week that should come into effect next year. Canada, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, among others, have also tightened the rules.