2 weeks ago
Meta Shuts Down 750,000 Youth Accounts in Australia
Australia made a new law that stops kids under 16 from using apps like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
The law started in December.
Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, says it has closed more than 750,000 accounts belonging to kids under 16 in Australia.
That includes 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts.
Meta uses smart computer programs called AI to find and remove these accounts.
But a government group called eSafety checked and found the law has not helped very much yet.
Before the law, about 85.9% of kids under 16 used social media.
Three months later, that number was still 81.5%.
eSafety says many kids still have accounts because the companies never asked them to prove how old they are.
Meta says it keeps removing accounts and is adding new ways to find under-16 users.
Meta says it has removed access to more than 750,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts in Australia believed to belong to people under 16.
The removals include 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts, with more than 500,000 shut down before the law took effect in December.
Australia's youth social media ban requires Meta, Snap Inc., and ByteDance's TikTok to prohibit under-16s from holding accounts or face fines.
Australia's eSafety regulator found the ban produced only a marginal reduction in underage users, with 81.5% of under-16s still using social media in March versus 85.9% before the law.
eSafety said continued underage use appeared to stem from ineffective age assurance measures; about 38% of 10 to 15 year olds on Instagram said they were never asked to verify their ages.
- Who
- Meta Platforms Inc., Australia's eSafety regulator, and children under 16 using social media.
- What
- Meta removed more than 750,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts in Australia believed to belong to people under 16, and says enforcement is ongoing.
- Where
- Australia.
- When
- The law came into effect in December; Meta reported the updated figures on Thursday; eSafety's survey data was collected at the end of March.
- Why
- Australia's regulations require platforms to prohibit under-16s from holding accounts or face fines, driven by fears over social media's effects on children.
Meta's Perspective
Regulators' Perspective
Effectiveness of the under-16 ban
Meta's Perspective
Meta says its enforcement is working and ongoing: it has removed more than 750,000 under-16 accounts, uses AI-powered detection, and says these numbers will continue to grow.
Regulators' Perspective
eSafety's report found the ban produced only a marginal reduction in underage users in its first three months, attributing continued underage access mainly to ineffective age assurance measures.
Key facts
- Total accounts removed
- More than 750,000 (462,000 Instagram, 294,000 Facebook)
- Accounts removed before law took effect
- More than 500,000
- Law effective date
- December
- Under-16 social media use after three months
- 81.5%, down from 85.9% before the law
- Platforms required to ban under-16s
- Meta, Snap Inc., ByteDance's TikTok
- Children aged 10-15 not asked to verify age
- 38% on Instagram; about 28% on Facebook
- Meta's detection methods
- AI-powered detection and other measures
Quotes
eSafety commissioner
Commissioner of Australia’s online safety regulator
“The primary reason children continued to hold age-restricted social media accounts at three months appeared to be ineffective implementation of age assurance measures”
livemint.com
“ESafety’s survey data was collected at the end of March”
livemint.com
Sources
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