Australia deactivates nearly five million teen social accounts under new ban

Nearly five million social media accounts belonging to Australian teenagers have been deactivated or removed, the government said, about a month after a law banning people younger than 16 from using the services took effect. The law required 10 social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Reddit, to prevent users under 16 from accessing their services and warned that failure to take "reasonable steps" could lead to fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, about $33 million.

The government described the announcement as the first reported metric reflecting the rollout of the law, and said companies had "removed access" to about 4.7 million accounts, according to the eSafety Commissioner; Meta said it had removed almost 550,000 underage accounts before the ban came into force.

But the figure offers a limited picture: many teenagers have said they could bypass the ban by lying about their age or avoiding verification systems. Fifteen-year-old Jack Okill said he was locked out of his Instagram account and created a new account managed by his mother, while a 14-year-old who asked to be identified only as Raeve said he kept using YouTube and Reddit by changing his age and that most of his peers seemed unaffected.

Critics have warned the blanket ban may disproportionately affect minorities, teens in remote areas and young people with disabilities. The country’s online safety regulator and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have defended the policy; Mr.

Key Topics

World, Australia, Social Media Ban, Esafety Commissioner, Anthony Albanese, Meta