Image@ Reuters
Facebook and Instagram operator Meta has removed more than 750,000 accounts believed to belong to Australians below the age of 16, following the introduction of the country’s pioneering social media age restriction.
The technology giant said on Thursday it disabled about 462,000 Instagram profiles and 294,000 Facebook profiles between the period immediately preceding the ban’s implementation in December and June.
The figures represent a significant increase from the 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts Meta reported removing by January.
Australia’s social media restrictions took effect on December 10 amid growing concerns over the effects of online platforms on children’s wellbeing.
The legislation requires major social media services to prevent users under 16 from maintaining accounts.
Meta has maintained that it intends to follow the regulations despite previously criticising the legislation.
Its latest disclosure comes as Australia’s internet watchdog weighs possible legal action against several technology companies over alleged failures to properly enforce the restrictions.
Government statistics and independent research have indicated that the measures have not completely prevented young teenagers from accessing social media.
Studies conducted during the first three months of the restrictions found that more than 80 per cent of under-16s continued to use social networking platforms.
Australian authorities have also accused technology companies of failing to implement the restrictions effectively.
Proposed amendments would increase the maximum financial penalty for breaches to A$99 million and expand the regulator’s powers to obtain relevant documents.
Meta, TikTok, Google’s YouTube and Snap are expected to appear before a parliamentary investigation on Friday to explain their approaches to the new requirements.
Officials from the government and regulatory agencies are also due to testify.
Meta said its monitoring programme remains active and that the number of accounts removed is expected to rise.
The company explained that artificial intelligence is being used to identify signs that a profile could belong to a person younger than 16.
These indicators include references to school levels, birthday celebrations and other information contained in account activity.
The platform also reviews reports concerning potentially underage users and has introduced measures preventing individuals from repeatedly creating new accounts after an earlier profile has been removed.
The Australian government’s 2025 assessment of age-verification technology concluded that available systems could assist platforms in enforcing the restrictions.
Several major social networks subsequently introduced image-based age estimation tools, alongside other methods that assess a user’s likely age from their online behaviour.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong