US EditionSocial Media Platforms Removed 4.7 Million Accounts After Australia Banned Them for Children
About 4.7 million accounts of Australian children under 16 were removed within days of the ban as officials aim to reduce online harm and predatory practices.
- In the first days after December 10, Australia reported that platforms deactivated over 4.7 million accounts belonging to children, according to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
- The Online Safety Amendment Act raises the minimum age to 16 and requires age verification to protect teens from algorithmic exposure and mental-health harms, the Australian government said.
- Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, reported removing 330,000 Instagram, 173,000 Facebook and 39,000 Threads users between December 4 and 11 last year, and nearly 550,000 by the day after the ban.
- Communications Minister Anika Wells said the tally equates to more than two accounts for every Australian aged 10 to 16, and eSafety is closely reviewing platform data for compliance.
- However, Reddit is complying but has sued the government to overturn the ban, while regulators noted spikes in alternative app downloads that did not sustain usage, Inman Grant said Friday.
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In Australia, 4.7 million children's accounts have been blocked on social media, and children under the age of 16 are prohibited from having their own accounts.
Since December 10 a social media ban has been in effect in Australia for children and adolescents under the age of 16. The Australian government is now explaining what the law has brought about so far.
The Australian experiment on the prohibition of social media for children under 16 years of age has passed the initial phase with numbers that made noise: in the first weeks since the entry into force of the Online Safety Amendment Act last December, the main platforms have disabled, removed or limited about 4.7 million accounts belonging to users considered under-16. A data released by the Canberra government and confirmed by the Safety Commiss…
4.7M social media accounts removed under Australia's new youth ban
More than 4.7 million social media accounts belonging to Australians under the age of 16 have been removed since the nation's new social media youth ban went into effect last month, Canberra announced Friday.
The new law has been in force for five weeks – now Australia's government is taking stock for the first time.
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