Meta removed more than 750,000 teenage social‑media profiles in Australia
Meta says it deactivated 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts between December and June as Australia's under‑16 ban took effect on December 10.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, says it has deactivated more than 750,000 accounts it suspects belong to Australians under 16, after Canberra introduced the world's first ban on teenage social‑media accounts.
The company reported removing 462,000 suspected Instagram profiles and 294,000 suspected Facebook accounts between December and June, compared with 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts removed by January. The Australian law took effect on 10 December.
Regulator scrutiny and ongoing checks
Meta said it wants to comply with the law even as Australia’s internet regulator considers a lawsuit against platforms — including some owned by Meta — alleging they failed to take sufficient steps to meet the new rules. The government and several independent studies found that more than eight in ten people under 16 remained on social media in the first three months after the ban.
Meta described technical measures it uses to identify suspected under‑16 accounts, including AI systems that analyse profiles for "contextual signals that the account may belong to a person under 16, such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades," and reports of suspected minor accounts. The company also said it removed the option for a person to attempt to create a new account after a previous profile had been deleted.
“Enforcement is underway and these numbers will continue to grow. We share the Australian government's goal of providing young people with safe, age‑appropriate online experiences and we are meeting our obligations under the law,” the company said. Ministers and regulators have also signalled tougher measures: Canberra doubled the maximum penalty for non‑compliance to AUD 99 million and expanded powers to compel document production.
Representatives from Meta, TikTok, YouTube owner Google and Snap are due to give evidence in a parliamentary inquiry on Friday, alongside regulatory and government witnesses, as Australia weighs further tightening of the rules after initial results fell short of expectations.
Photo: Pexels / Tima Miroshnichenko
