Meta removes 756,000 Australian teen accounts as ban looms

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta announced on Thursday that it had removed over 750,000 accounts suspected to belong to Australians aged under 16 since the introduction of a world-first ban. The company expects to take further action due to potential regulatory intervention. Since the Australian social media ban began in December, Meta deactivated 462,000 suspect Instagram accounts and 294,000 suspect Facebook accounts, compared to 331,000 and 173,000 removed by January, respectively.

The world's largest social media company claims it wants to comply with the law, even as Australia's internet regulator considers legal action against platforms for non-compliance. While no other platforms have released compliance data for the specific date range, Australian government figures and independent studies indicate that over 80% of under-16s were still active on social media during the ban's first three months.

Australia proposed the law in December out of concern for the physical and mental health impacts of social media on children and teenagers. If the platforms do not comply, the maximum penalty for non-compliance could increase to A$99 million (US$69.75 million), and the regulator would gain greater document discovery powers. Meta, along with TikTok owner, Google's YouTube, and Snap's Snapchat, are set to testify in a parliamentary inquiry about the changes on Friday. Enforcement is ongoing, and the numbers will continue to grow.