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Social media companies have removed access to millions of accounts belonging to children in Australia in the first month since the country’s historic ban took effect, requiring platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to identify and deactivate users under the age 16.
Access was revoked for roughly 4.7 million users, according to Australian officials, who on Friday touted the early success of the law, which was enacted in mid-December amid fears surrounding the impact of online environments on young people.
“Today, we can announce that this is working,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a news conference. “This is a source of Australian pride. This was world-leading legislation, but it is now being followed up around the world.”
Under the law, 10 social media giants - Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and YouTube – must locate and deactivate accounts of Australian users under the age of 16. The companies face fines of up to $33 million if they don’t take “reasonable steps” to remove underage users.
AUSTRALIAN MOTHER CALLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS AFTER DAUGHTER’S SUICIDE
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets police officers during a visit to the NSW Police headquarters, following a deadly shooting incident during a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Hollie Adams/Reuters)
Critics of the new ban have argued that it will be difficult to enforce, and Inman Grant acknowledged that there are still some active underage accounts.
“We don’t expect safety laws to eliminate every single breach. If we did, speed limits would have failed because people speed, drinking limits would have failed because, believe it or not, some kids do get access to alcohol,” she said.
She added that based on data reviewed by her office, there was an increase in downloads of option apps after the ban began, but not a spike in usage.
Social media platforms can verify age by either requesting copies of identification documents, using a third party to apply age estimation technology to an account holder’s face, or making inferences from data already available, such as how long an account has been active.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said earlier this week that it had removed nearly 550,000 accounts belonging to users it believed where under the age of 16 just one day after the ban began.
While the law was popular among parents and child safety campaigners, online privacy advocates and groups representing teenagers largely came out against it.
FRANCE REPORTEDLY PLANNING TO BAN CHILDREN UNDER 15 FROM SOCIAL MEDIA STARTING 2026
