Meta Shuts More Than 750,000 Suspected Under-16 Accounts in Australia

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, said on Thursday it had disabled more than 750,000 accounts in Australia since the world’s first ban on social media use by children under 16 took effect, while also pledging further action amid possible regulatory steps.

According to Reuters, Meta said it deactivated 462,000 suspected Instagram accounts and 294,000 suspected Facebook accounts from just before Australia’s social media ban took effect in December last year through June. In January, the company had said it had removed 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook accounts by that point.

Meta, the world’s largest social media company, said it wants to comply with Australia’s law even though it had publicly opposed the legislation, as had other platforms.

At the same time, Australia’s internet regulator is considering legal action against several platforms, including Meta-owned services, alleging they have not taken sufficient steps to comply with the law.

No platform other than Meta has released data covering a comparable period. However, Australian government statistics and several independent studies found that in the first three months after the ban took effect, more than eight in 10 children under 16 remained active on social media.

The Australian government proposed the landmark law over concerns about the impact of social media on the physical and mental health of children and young teenagers. The law took effect on 10 December.

As other countries consider similar age-based restrictions, Australia has alleged that social media platforms deliberately structured the ban in a way that would cause it to fail. Australia has already moved to amend the law to double the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million (US$69.75 million) and to give the regulator broader powers to search for and obtain documents.

In a statement, Meta said, “Enforcement is ongoing and these numbers will continue to rise.” The company added, “We support the Australian government’s goal of ensuring safe and age-appropriate online experiences for young people and are meeting our responsibilities under the law.”

A 2025 trial of age-verification technology in Australia found that available market technologies could effectively support enforcement of the ban. Most major platforms, including Meta, have introduced image-based age-estimation software.

Those companies have said they generally first use age-estimation methods based on user activity online, meaning they infer a person’s age from the type of activity they carry out on the internet.

Meta said it is using artificial intelligence to identify whether an account may belong to someone under 16. The company said it analyses various “relevant signals” in user profiles, including birthday celebration posts and references to school year levels. Meta also said it analyses reports received about suspected underage accounts.

Meta added that it has also blocked repeated attempts to create new accounts after a previous account has been removed.