By Sean Maguire ( July 27, 2026, 07:15 GMT | Insight) -- Australia's online-safety regulator says it is unlikely to succeed in civil-penalty proceedings against social-media platforms over the country's under-16 social media ban because it cannot compel them to produce key documents. In a submission to a Senate inquiry, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant backed a bill that would expand the watchdog's information-gathering powers, allow it to obtain documents from third-party age-assurance providers and double the maximum civil penalty for noncompliance to A$99 million ($69 million). The Digital Industry Group Inc., whose members include Meta Platforms, Google, TikTok and Snap, called for safeguards around the expanded information-gathering powers, including limiting notices to material reasonably necessary for an investigation.Australia's online-safety regulator says it is unlikely to succeed in taking social-media companies to court over the country's under-16 social-media ban because it cannot compel them to hand over key documents....
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