Meta has disabled more than 540,000 social media accounts in Australia following the world’s first nationwide ban on social media use for children under the age of 16, the company announced on Monday.
Meta said that between December 4 and December 11 it removed 544,052 accounts believed to belong to users younger than 16. The affected accounts included 330,639 on Instagram, 173,497 on Facebook and 39,916 on Threads.
Under Australia’s new legislation, which came into force on December 10, individuals under 16 are prohibited from holding personal accounts on 10 major social media platforms. These include TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and YouTube.
The law grants affected companies a one-year transition period to implement age-verification systems. Violations may result in fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, equivalent to around 33 million US dollars.
Meta said ongoing compliance with the legislation would be a multi-layered process that the company will continue to refine. While reiterating concerns about the lack of a unified industry standard for online age verification, the company confirmed it remains committed to meeting its legal obligations.
Meta also urged the Australian government to work more closely with the technology sector to develop alternative approaches, such as incentivizing higher industry-wide standards for age-appropriate, privacy-protective online experiences, rather than relying on blanket bans.
The company argued that app stores should be required to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before allowing children to download applications. Meta said this would provide consistent protection across the digital ecosystem and prevent teenagers from switching to lesser-known platforms to bypass social media restrictions.
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