CANBERRA - The Australian government has announced that it will move to double the maximum fine for companies that fail to enforce the nation's social media ban for children younger than 16.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Saturday night that technology companies are not "doing enough" to comply with the under-16 social media ban.

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He said that the government will introduce legislation to the federal parliament that will increase the maximum fine for social media companies that fail to prevent under-16s from using their platforms from 49.5 million Australian dollars ($34.1 million) to 99 million AUD ($68.3 million).

"There are still too many children on social media," Albanese said.

"These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply with our world-leading law."

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The world-first ban came into effect in December 2025, but a study published on Thursday by Australia's University of Newcastle found that more than 85 percent of children younger than 16 said they were still using social media three months after the implementation.

In addition to harsher fines, Albanese said the proposed changes to the law would give the government's eSafety Commissioner stronger powers to force social media companies to provide evidence of the measures they are taking to prevent under-16s from using their platforms.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the government intends to legislate the changes before the federal parliament's annual winter break begins on Thursday.