Meta said it had removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16, as the country’s internet regulator weighs enforcement action over its teen social media ban.
Meta said it had deactivated 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16. The figures are up from 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts removed by January.
Meta says it wants to comply with Australia’s under-16 social media ban, despite opposing the law. The country’s internet regulator is considering legal action against platforms it says have failed to comply.
No other platforms have released compliance data covering the same period as Meta, but Australian government figures and multiple independent studies have shown that more than eight in 10 under-16s were still on social media during the ban's first three months.
The Australian government proposed the landmark law, which came into force on 10 December, amid concerns about social media's impact on the physical and mental health of children and young teenagers.
Australia has accused social media platforms of deliberately setting the under-16 ban up to fail as other countries consider similar restrictions.
It has also introduced legislation to double the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million ($69.75 million) and give the regulator greater powers to obtain documents.
Representatives of Meta, TikTok, YouTube owner Google and Snapchat owner Snap are scheduled to give evidence on Friday to a parliamentary inquiry into the changes, alongside regulatory and government officials.
"Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow," Meta said in a statement.
"We share the Australian Government's goal of ensuring young people have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we are meeting our obligations under the law," the company added.
A 2025 Australian trial of age assurance technology found that products already on the market could effectively support the ban.
Most large platforms, including those owned by Meta, rolled out photo-based age estimation software, although they say they typically first subject users to age inference, which estimates a person's age based on their online activity.
Meta said it was using AI to analyse user profiles for "contextual clues that an account may belong to someone under 16, such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades" and to analyse reports about suspected underage accounts.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, met on 14 October to discuss bilateral ties and key regional and inte...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reaffirmed his support for Saudi Arabia following Houthi attacks, as U.S. President Donald Trump consid...
Pakistan and Oman called for restraint and diplomacy on Wednesday as they discussed the U.S.-Iran conflict, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and thre...
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Thousands of young Georgians leave the country each year in search of better economic opportunities, with many moving west. As questions grow over Georgia’s European path, AnewZ spoke to people who have emigrated about what it would take for them to return.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
A 62-year-old man died on Wednesday after floodwaters swept his car into the sea on the Greek island of Rhodes, as torrential rain flooded roads, stranded vehicles and disrupted transport across the island.
A failure by the U.S. and Iran to reach an agreement on a UN-backed fertiliser shipping plan for the Strait of Hormuz within weeks could trigger a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, a senior UN official has warned.
Pope Leo has been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer, after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican says the tumour was detected during a routine health check, but its stage and whether it has spread remain unknown.
Greek students braved heavy rain to pitch tents outside parliament in Athens on Tuesday, demanding affordable housing and more education funding as rising living costs put university places beyond the reach of some students.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment