Meta Platforms Inc. has deactivated nearly 550,000 accounts in Australia to comply with the nation’s new social media ban for users under 16, the company announced on Medium. This action includes 330,000 Instagram accounts, 173,000 Facebook accounts, and 40,000 Threads accounts identified as belonging to children.
Australia’s minimum age social media ban, which affects ten platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Reddit, and Twitch, became effective December 10. The law mandates platforms prevent underage users from accessing services or face fines up to AUD$49.5 million ($33 million).
Reddit has initiated a lawsuit against the Australian government, contending that its platform, which it does not classify as a social media site, should be excluded from the ban due to privacy and political expression concerns. Meta has also voiced opposition to the ban, citing potential isolation of teenagers from online support communities and a shift of underage users to less regulated parts of the internet. The company also noted inconsistent age verification methods and disinterest in compliance from teenagers and parents.
Platforms determine age through various methods, including age inference based on activity and selfie verification. Meta wrote, “Ongoing compliance with the law will be a multi-layered process that we will continue to refine, though our concerns about determining age online without an industry standard remain.”
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