Australia is planning to double the maximum fines for social media companies to A$99 million if they fail to stop children under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts.

The government says tougher penalties and expanded powers for the eSafety Commissioner are necessary because major platforms have not effectively enforced the age restrictions.

Under the proposed legislation, regulators would also gain the authority to request more information from social media companies and third-party age verification providers to monitor compliance.

The reforms have received support from the opposition, which argues the original law did not include strong enough enforcement measures, NPR has reported.

The proposal comes after reports found that most users under 16 continued using restricted platforms even after the ban took effect in December.