Meta Deactivates Over 544,000 Under-16 Accounts as Australia Enforces Social Media Ban

Meta deactivated over 544,000 social media accounts belonging to users under 16 to comply with Australia’s new law banning children from holding social media accounts. The law, which took effect on December 10, requires major platforms to enforce age restrictions or face heavy fines, a move that has drawn global attention and encouraged other countries to consider similar measures.

Meta has deactivated more than half a million social media accounts belonging to children as part of efforts to comply with Australia’s newly introduced social media law. The legislation, which came into force on December 10, prohibits children under the age of 16 from holding social media accounts and places responsibility on major platforms to ensure that such accounts are not maintained. The law applies to large technology companies, including Meta, TikTok and YouTube, requiring them to take active steps to prevent underage users from accessing their services.
According to Meta, between December 4 and December 11 the company deactivated a total of 544,052 accounts that it believed were operated by users younger than 16. Of this figure, 330,639 accounts were removed from Instagram, 173,497 from Facebook, and 39,916 from Threads. These actions were taken in anticipation of, and in response to, the enforcement of the new legal requirements.
Under the law, companies that fail to comply face substantial financial penalties. Firms found to be in violation could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, which is equivalent to approximately €28.4 million or US$33 million. The size of the potential fines underscores the seriousness with which the Australian government is approaching enforcement.
In a statement, Meta said it was committed to complying with the new regulations, but also raised concerns about the practical challenges involved in determining users’ ages online. The company noted that there is currently no universally accepted industry standard for age verification, making enforcement difficult and potentially inconsistent across platforms.
Meta called on the Australian government to work more closely and constructively with the technology industry to develop better solutions. The company argued that instead of relying on blanket bans, authorities should encourage higher industry-wide standards that promote safe, privacy-preserving and age-appropriate online experiences for young users.
The company also renewed its call for app stores to play a more active role by verifying users’ ages and requiring parental approval before apps can be downloaded. According to Meta, this approach would help create consistent protections for young people regardless of which apps they use, and would reduce the risk of teenagers simply moving from one platform to another in order to bypass restrictions.
Meta further warned of a “whack-a-mole” effect, where enforcement efforts struggle to keep up as teens migrate to new or less regulated apps to circumvent the social media ban. The company maintained that coordinated, industry-wide measures are essential to effectively address the issue.
Meanwhile, Australia’s public broadcaster ABC reported that the government was expected to release official data this week detailing how many underage Australians had been removed from platforms affected by the ban. This data is anticipated to provide a clearer picture of the law’s immediate impact.
Australia’s move has been widely praised by child safety advocates around the world and has sparked discussions in other countries about adopting similar policies. The ban has already prompted consideration of comparable measures in several nations, including France and Germany, where policymakers are examining whether restrictions on social media access for children could help address concerns about online safety and youth wellbeing.