Meta removes 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia

Meta has removed nearly 756,000 suspected Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to users under 16 in Australia after the country’s ban on social media access for under-16s came into force. The technology giant said Thursday that the removals were part of its efforts to comply with Australian law, with 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts taken down between December last year and June this year.

Meta had previously reported removing 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts by January this year. Australia became the first country in the world to enforce a social media ban for children under 16 when the legislation took effect on December 10 last year, aiming to mitigate the adverse effects of social media on the physical and psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents. Meta and other technology companies have opposed the legislation from the outset, although they have pledged to comply with it.

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Australia’s internet regulator, however, has alleged that several platforms have failed to take adequate measures to enforce the law and is considering tougher action against them. Meanwhile, discrepancies have emerged between Meta’s figures and government statistics and independent research, which indicate that more than eight in 10 children under 16 continued to use at least one social media platform during the first three months after the ban took effect. Meta said it has also introduced measures to prevent users whose accounts are removed for being underage from repeatedly creating new accounts.