US EditionMeta blocks 550,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban
Meta deactivated 544,052 accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads to comply with Australia's ban aimed at protecting youths from harmful content and algorithms.
- On December 10, Meta deactivated 544,052 Australian accounts to comply with the under-16 social media ban during early-December removals.
- In 2024 the federal government passed minimum-age social media laws to protect youths from harmful content, following News Corp's Let Them Be Kids campaign and denying parental-consent exemptions.
- Meta reported platform-specific takedowns including 330,639 Instagram, 173,497 Facebook, and 39,916 Threads accounts between December 4 and 11, using government ID, facial age estimation, and age inference methods.
- Companies face fines of up to A$50 million if they fail to restrict under-16 accounts, while Meta warned the ban risks isolating vulnerable teens and pushing them to less regulated apps.
- Other countries are watching as Australia's policy prompts global interest, while Meta supports app stores requiring age checks and backs OpenAge Initiative's AgeKeys verification tools in coming months.
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Meta has deactivated more than half a million profiles in Australia as a result of the world's first social media ban on under-16s
Meta removes 500,000 youth accounts under Australia's new social media ban
Meta has removed more than half a million social media accounts belonging to Australians under the age of 16, the company said, as it announced its efforts to comply with the Oceanian nation's new social media age ban.
New Australian law bans social media for children under 16.
Tech giant Meta on Monday urged Australia to reconsider the world's first social media ban on under-16s, saying it had blocked more than 544,000 accounts under the new law.
The group, which announced that 544,000 accounts had been banned because of the age of the account holder since the law came into force, deplored "general prohibitions" rather than an increase in the level of security. The Australian government maintained its position.
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