KUALA LUMPUR – More than 544,000 young Australians were booted off social media as Meta scrambled to comply with the country’s landmark under‑16 ban.
Between December 4 and 11, the tech giant deactivated accounts it believed were held by underage users — 330,639 on Instagram, 173,497 on Facebook, and 39,916 on Threads.
The purge follows the world’s first law banning under‑16s from holding accounts on 10 major platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and YouTube. The legislation, effective December 10, gives companies a year to roll out age‑verification systems or face fines of up to AUD$49.5 million (US$33 million).
Meta described its compliance efforts as a “multi‑layered process” that will continue to evolve.
“Though our concerns about determining age online without an industry standard remain, Meta is committed to meeting its compliance obligations and is taking the necessary steps to remain compliant with the law,” the company said in a blog post.
Still, Meta urged the Australian government to work with industry rather than impose blanket bans. It argued app stores should be required to verify age and secure parental approval before children download apps.
“This is the only way to guarantee consistent, industry‑wide protections for young people, no matter which apps they use, and to avoid the whack‑a‑mole effect of catching up with new apps that teens will migrate to,” Meta added. – January 12, 2026