American multinational technology company, Meta, which owns and operates major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has removed more than half a million social media accounts belonging to underage children in compliance with Australia’s new social media law that restricts users under 16 from operating some social media apps.
The law came into effect on December 10, 2025, and requires big tech platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, to restrict accounts for those under 16.
Meta said that between December 4 and 11, it deactivated 544,052 accounts that were believed to be held by users aged under 16. “This included 330,639 accounts on Instagram, 173,497 on Facebook and 39,916 on Threads,” it said in a statement.
Meta also said it was committed to upholding the law, but expressed concerns about determining a user’s age online in the absence of an industry standard.
“We call on the Australian government to engage with the 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 said.
“This is the only way to guarantee consistent, industry-wide protections for young people, no matter which apps they use, and to avoid the whack-a-mole effect of catching up with new apps that teens will migrate to circumvent the social media ban law,” it added.
The Australian government, under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, had warned that companies found not complying with the new law would face fines of up to $49.5 million Australian (€28.4 million, US$33 million).
The ban has been widely appreciated by child safety advocates and parents, prompting other countries, including Germany, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to consider similar measures.
