Meta Removes 550,000+ Under 16 Accounts in Australia

Balasahana Suresh
Meta Platforms Inc., owner of data-facebook, instagram and Threads, has deactivated nearly 550,000 social media accounts in Australia that it identified as belonging to users under the age of 16 as part of compliance with the country’s new under‑16 social media ban. The ban, which came into effect in December 2025, prohibits minors from holding accounts on major platforms without meeting strict age‑verification requirements.

According to Meta’s compliance update:

  • Around 544,000 accounts believed to belong to users under 16 were removed early in the ban’s enforcement period.
  • These included accounts on Instagram, data-facebook and Threads, with the company saying the figure reflects the first phase of its action.
Meta Issues Warning to Australian Government

While Meta says it is acting to follow the law, the company has warned that the ban may not be achieving its intended safety goals. Meta argues that:

  • Age verification remains technically challenging and inconsistent without industry‑wide standards.
  • The ban could push teens toward smaller, less‑regulated social platforms or ways to bypass restrictions (like VPNs).
  • Algorithmic exposure to content may still occur even if users are logged out.
Meta has called for better collaborative approaches—such as standardized age verification across the industry or handling age checks at the app‑store level—to achieve safer online experiences for young users.

Broader Impact and Context

The Australian government reports that across all platforms covered by the ban — including TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, YouTube and others — about 4.7 million accounts believed to belong to users under 16 have been deactivated or restricted since the law took effect, signaling the wide scale of the shift in the wallet PLATFORM' target='_blank' title='digital-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW">digital landscape.

The debate over the effectiveness and practicality of such strict age‑based restrictions continues, with both supporters and critics weighing in on how best to protect young people online without unintended consequences.

 

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