澳大利亚在线安全监管机构表示，仍在调查 Instagram、Facebook 等社交媒体平台是否违反该国最低年龄规定，同时正在评估后续步骤。
Australia’s online safety watchdog said it continues to investigate whether Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms are breaching the country’s minimum age rules, while evaluating next steps.
eSafety Commissioner（网络安全专员办公室）于 3 月宣布，正在调查 Meta Platforms Inc. 旗下的 Facebook 和 Instagram、TikTok、Snapchat 以及 YouTube，涉嫌未遵守法律规定。该立法要求这些公司采取合理措施，防止未成年用户持有社交媒体账号，旨在保护他们免受有害网络内容侵害。
The eSafety Commissioner said in March it was investigating Facebook and Instagram — both owned by Meta Platforms Inc. — TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube for potentially failing to adhere to the law. The legislation requires the companies to take reasonable steps to stop underage users from holding social media accounts, part of a bid to protect them from harmful online content.
“这些调查正在进行中，eSafety 正继续收集和评估证据，以确定是否有必要采取进一步监管行动，”eSafety 发言人周三在电子邮件中表示。“我们将在条件成熟时提供最新情况。目前无进一步评论。”
“These investigations are ongoing, and eSafety is continuing to gather and assess evidence to determine whether further regulatory action is warranted,” an eSafety spokesperson said in an email Wednesday. “We will provide an update when we are in a position to do so. We have no further comment at this stage.”
通信部长 Anika Wells（安妮卡·韦尔斯）本周表示，预计澳大利亚将对这五家社交媒体公司因不遵守禁令立法而采取法律行动。周一在悉尼接受采访时被问及是否预期会对这五个平台提起法律诉讼，Wells 回答：“是的。”她补充道：“这不是我的决定，但我预期会这样。”eSafety 7 月发布的一份报告发现，大多数未成年社交媒体用户能够保留账号或创建新账号，主要原因是平台缺乏有效的年龄核查机制。
Communications Minister Anika Wells said this week she expected Australia to pursue legal action against the social media firms for non-compliance with the ban legislation. Asked in an interview in Sydney on Monday if legal action can be expected against the five platforms, Wells said: “Yes.”She added: “It’s not my decision, but I would expect it.”An eSafety report in July found most underage social media users were able to keep their accounts or create new ones, largely due to a lack of effective age checks on the platforms.
eSafety Commissioner 是一家独立监管机构，但属于政府一部分，并通过通信部长向澳大利亚议会负责，该职位目前由 Wells 担任。
The eSafety Commissioner is an independent regulator, though part of the government and accountable to Australia’s parliament through the communications minister, a position currently held by Wells.