Approximately 550,000 accounts were suspended by Meta in the initial days following Australia’s significant social media ban aimed at children.
In December, a new legislation was enacted mandating that the most widely used social media platforms globally – such as Instagram and Facebook – prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating accounts on their services.
This ban, which is being monitored closely on a global scale, was defended by advocates and the government as essential for safeguarding children from detrimental content and algorithms.
Companies such as Meta have expressed their agreement that additional measures are necessary to ensure the safety of young individuals online. Nevertheless, they continue to advocate for alternative solutions, with several experts echoing similar apprehensions.
“We urge the Australian government to collaborate constructively with the industry to identify a more effective path forward, such as incentivizing the entire industry to enhance the standards for providing safe, privacy-respecting, and age-appropriate online experiences, rather than imposing blanket bans,” Meta stated in a recent blog update.
The organization reported that it had blocked 330,639 accounts on Instagram, 173,497 on Facebook, and 39,916 on Threads during its initial week of compliance with the new legislation.
They reiterated their position that age verification should be implemented at the app store level—an approach they argue reduces the compliance burden on both regulators and the applications themselves—and that exemptions for parental consent should be established.
“This is the sole method to ensure consistent, industry-wide protections for young individuals, regardless of the applications they utilize, and to prevent the whack-a-mole scenario of trying to keep up with new applications that teenagers may turn to in order to bypass the social media ban law.”
Various governments, from Florida in the United States to the European Union, have been testing restrictions on children’s access to social media. However, alongside a raised age limit of 16, Australia stands out as the first jurisdiction to eliminate parental approval exemptions in such a policy—rendering its laws the most stringent in the world.
The policy enjoys immense popularity among parents and is admired by global leaders, with the Conservative Party this week committing to adopt similar measures if they secure victory in the upcoming election, which is expected before 2029.
Nonetheless, certain experts have expressed worries that children in Australia may easily bypass the restrictions—either by deceiving the technology responsible for age verification or by discovering alternative, possibly less secure, areas on the internet to explore.
Supported by various mental health advocates, numerous young individuals contend that this situation deprives them of vital connections—especially those belonging to LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, or rural communities—and will render them less prepared to confront the challenges of online life.