As Australia’s under-16 social media prohibition approaches, Instagram and Facebook start removing accounts.

As the deadline for Australia’s social media ban approaches, Facebook and Instagram started removing half a million accounts belonging to people under the age of sixteen on Thursday.

Although Meta informed users last month that it will start closing accounts on December 4th, the under-16 social media ban is scheduled to go into force on December 10th.

 

About 150,000 Facebook accounts and 350,000 Instagram profiles are owned by people the platform believes to be between the ages of 13 and 15, according to a February report from the eSafety commissioner.

Additionally, Meta will start preventing Australian users under the age of sixteen from opening new accounts on Thursday.

“While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by 10 December, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multilayered process,” a Meta spokesperson said.

“If you’re under 16, you can still preserve and download your digital history across Instagram, Threads, and Facebook.

“Before you turn 16, we will notify you that you will soon be allowed to regain access to these platforms, and your content will be restored exactly as you left it.”

Under 16s will also no longer be able to hold an account on Threads due to the need to have an Instagram account to use Threads.

Meta has not disclosed the number of Threads users, but it would be a subset of the number of Instagram account holders.

Last month Meta began informing users it understood to be under 16 of the pending account deactivation, and appeals methods for those it wrongly identified as being under 16.

The communications minister, Anika Wells, told the National Press Club on Wednesday that if a child has a social media account on 10 December “then that platform is breaking the law”, but acknowledged it would take time for “the age assurance sieve” to filter out existing accounts and stop new accounts being created.

“Most parents, carers and teachers I talk to don’t expect perfection, but what they do say to me is ‘Thank you for trying this – do not back down!’” she said.

Increasing the minimum age to have a social media account is not a cure, it is a treatment plan. And this is not set and forget. We can’t be static in dynamic environments – because the tech sure isn’t.”

The platforms will face potential fines of $49.5m for failing to take reasonable steps to keep under 16s from holding accounts.

The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told Senate estimates on Tuesday night she will be watching the platforms come 10 December but will be taking a “graduated risk and outcomes-based approach to compliance and enforcement, focusing on platforms with the highest proportion of underage users”.

Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and YouTube have all been identified by the government as needing to implement the ban by next week.

All companies apart from X and Reddit have said they will comply with the ban. Both were approached for comment.