Meta is urging Australia to rethink its ban on social media for people under age 16 after the company said it blocked nearly 550,000 accounts it believes belonged to teens in just one week in order to comply with the law.
The tech giant said it removed 544,052 suspected under-16 accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Threads between Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 as the country’s new age floor kicked in.
Meta warned lawmakers in Canberra that a “blanket ban” will just push kids to other apps.
“As we’ve stated previously, Meta is committed to meeting its compliance obligations and is taking the necessary steps to remain compliant with the law,” the company said.
“That said, we call on the Australian government to engage with industry constructively to find a better way forward, such as incentivising all of industry to raise the standard in providing safe, privacy-preserving, age appropriate experiences online, instead of blanket bans.”
Meta also urged regulators to broaden enforcement beyond individual apps and focus on the places where kids get them — the app stores.
The California-based company argued that teens use “over 40 apps a week,” but many services are not covered by the law or do not use meaningful age checks — creating what it called a “whack-a-mole effect” as teens hop to the next platform.
Meta pointed to what it said is already happening on the ground.
Australian teens are using alternative platforms that are not yet banned — including Snapchat-alternative Yope, ByteDance’s photo-and-video app Lemon8 and the messaging platform Discord.
Some under-16s have also described using VPNs or logging in through a parent’s account, according to reporting included in the background material.
Meta said it has partnered with the OpenAge Initiative on “Age Keys,” a set of age verification tools that allow users to verify age through government-issued ID, financial information, face estimation or national digital wallets — while emphasizing the push for what it described as privacy-preserving verification.
Australia’s “Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024” took effect in December, barring under-16s from holding accounts on major platforms that include Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, X, Facebook and Threads.
The law, which passed Parliament the previous month, amends the “Online Safety Act 2021” — setting up penalties that can reach tens of millions of dollars for breaches of the minimum-age obligation.
Not everyone in the industry is taking Meta’s approach of public compliance paired with public lobbying.
Reddit has mounted a legal challenge, arguing the ban is ineffective and curbs political discussion for teens.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a member of his country’s Labor Party, has framed the crackdown as a direct response to big tech’s grip on childhood.
He’s said the ban would give power back to parents and families and allow “kids to be kids.”
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has backed the move on child-safety grounds, saying the ban reduces the chance teens will be exposed to stressful or harmful content — and shifts the burden from parents to platforms.
The Post has sought comment from the Australian government.
