Beginning the re-shaping of restrictions.

POWERS TO BE EXPANDED

The Australian government is moving to strengthen enforcement of controversial social media restrictions, proposing expanded powers for the country’s eSafety Commissioner.

Under the proposed changes, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner would be granted significantly greater authority to investigate and compel information from social media companies in order to assess compliance with the social media laws.

At the heart of the reform is a new set of enforcement tools designed to ensure that technology companies are taking what the government describes as “reasonable steps” to
“prevent underage users from accessing their services”.

If passed, the legislation would allow the eSafety Commissioner to require companies to hand over internal documents, technical systems information, and policy details explaining how age verification is implemented and enforced.

The powers would not be limited solely to social media platforms themselves.

They would also extend, in certain circumstances, to third parties involved in the digital ecosystem, such as app store operators and providers of age-assurance technology.

This is intended to give regulators a “clearer view” of “how effectively the restrictions are being applied across the wider technology supply chain”.

Alongside the expanded investigative powers, the proposed legislation would also significantly increase financial penalties for non-compliance.

Under the changes, maximum fines for serious breaches could rise to as much as $99 million for corporations, doubling the current penalty threshold.

The government has argued that such increases are ‘necessary’ to ensure that penalties are meaningful for international technology companies with substantial revenues.

According to government figures, millions of accounts belonging to underage users have been removed, deactivated, or restricted since the rules began being enforced in late-2025.

However, ministers have maintained that stronger oversight is still required to ensure ‘consistent and transparent enforcement’ across the industry.

The proposals have now been referred to a Senate inquiry, where they will undergo further examination before any final vote is taken. Lawmakers are seeking more detailed evidence and assurances about how the expanded powers would operate.

Supporters argue the changes are a ‘necessary evolution ‘of Australia’s online safety framework, helping to ensure that online platforms take their obligations more seriously.

However, the proposals have also attracted criticism from many voices.

Concerns have been raised about the scope of regulatory authority, the burden on companies to comply with requests, and broader questions around privacy and oversight.

Critics argue that the mechanisms must be carefully balanced against civil liberties – which we all know if a fantasy to wish for.

As the Senate inquiry proceeds, the debate is expected to focus on how far regulatory powers should extend in monitoring compliance – and the safeguards required.

The beginning of a slow creep of incremental power increases, just as we warned would happen here on TOTT News following the soft launch of the legislation in December.

Given the backlash the government received over the initial bill, and the legal challenges that were ongoing at the time of launch, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they will be back in full force when these things were ‘sorted out’.

And when everyone had largely forgotten about them.

From this point, we should anticipate things to get a bit more interesting – as we head down the pathway to mass blanket identification rules for social media.

THE TROJAN HORSE

Australia’s age verification laws were very controversial in the lead up to the laws passing, with a variety of commentators, organisations, and the public in rejection of the plans.

They managed to scrape it across the line, although it was a watered down version of what they were initially hoping to achieve.

In December 2025, when covering the launch of age verification laws, I stated that I personally believed we have seen a soft launch of the program because the legal dynamics were not yet finalised, including multiple challenges to the laws.

Age verification has had a soft launch – here’s why you should keep an eye on it
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For example, a High Court challenge was lodged just weeks before the ban came into force, and is part of ongoing litigation before Australia’s highest court.

These are other cases that have also arisen either right before, or right after, laws began.

One teenager is attempting to sue the government to overturn the ban, arguing the measure would make the internet more dangerous for young people and be circumvented.

The Senate also recommended laws be delayed until technical hurdles and concerns were resolved – giving more credence to the suggestion things are were fully activated yet.

Age verification rollout recommended to be delayed by Senate committee
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But now that may appear to have changed, as the government looks to give the WEF-linked eSafety Commissioner more powers to dig and enforce.

How long before they tell us things are not working in the current state, and that the identification of every Australian will be required to ensure ‘children are protected’?

This was one of the main fears that was initially blocked by these hurdles.

We are still waiting for search engines to be included in the larger scope too, as the range of websites and platforms is able to be broadened over time.

How Age Verification Laws Will Impact Search Engines and Map Apps
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Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, has been at the forefront of this push in recent years – as she looks to carry out the greater vision for a controlled digital realm.

Before age verification came along, the eSafety office announced that tech giants will be forced to scan emails, online photo libraries, cloud storage accounts, and dating sites of Aussies for “illegal content”, or face fines of nearly $700,000 per day.

eSafety Commissioner will force big tech to scan photos, emails
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In true ‘Big Brother’ fashion, this department has become an all-seeing, all-knowing censorship bureau – recently ordering videos be removed from circulation in Australia.

eSafety Commissioner orders ban of videos showing Charlie Kirk, Iryna Zarutska murders
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They say it is about ‘safety’ in the virtual world – but at the core, it is about censorship.

Julie Inman Grant is a regular attendee at Davos conferences, working on behalf of the puppet masters behind the scenes to push more suppression of the internet.

Julie Inman Grant at Davos 2024.
Photo: WEF

The World Economic Forum describe her as an “agenda shifter”, after she was planted from the United States and Bill Gates’ Microsoft with the direct intention of thought policing.