End of the party in Australia? Meta has deleted over 750,000 teen accounts due to the new law
Meta announced that since the Australian ban took effect in December, 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to users under 16 have been disabled.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Thursday that it has removed over 750,000 accounts suspected of belonging to Australian teenagers under the age of 16 since the country's unprecedented ban on social media for minors took effect. The Reuters news agency reports that the tech giant has promised to expand its enforcement efforts in the face of threats of stricter regulatory intervention by Australian authorities.
According to data published by Meta, the company disabled 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to minors, starting from shortly after the Australian ban law took effect in December through last June. These figures represent a significant jump compared to the 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook accounts the company reported removing as of January.
The world's largest social network declares its desire to comply with the law, even though it and other platforms have expressed strong opposition to it. At the same time, Australia's internet regulator is considering filing an enforcement lawsuit against several platforms, including those owned by Meta, claiming they have not taken sufficient steps to meet the law's requirements. No other platform has so far released compliance data matching the date range provided by Meta, but data from the Australian government and independent studies indicate that more than 80 percent of those aged 16 and under continued to use social media during the first three months of the ban's implementation.
The groundbreaking law, which took effect on December 10, was promoted by the Australian government due to growing concerns over the impact of social media on the physical and mental health of children and teenagers. While other countries around the world are considering similar age restrictions, Australia accuses the platforms of deliberately undermining the law. In response, the country passed a law that doubles the maximum fine for non-compliance to 99 million Australian dollars (about 69.75 million US dollars) and grants the regulator broader investigative powers.
This coming Friday, representatives of Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snapchat are expected to testify before a parliamentary inquiry committee on the matter.
"Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow," Meta stated in a message to Reuters. "We share the Australian government's goal of ensuring that young people have safe and age-appropriate experiences online, and we are meeting our obligations under the law."
Meta noted that it uses artificial intelligence to analyze user profiles and look for clues of accounts belonging to minors, and has even blocked the ability to open a new account for users whose previous account was deleted.
