End of the party in Australia? Meta deletes over 750,000 teen accounts due to new law

Meta has suspended 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to users under 16, since Australia's ban law took effect in December through June. This is a significant jump from the 331,000 and 173,000 accounts reported by January. The Australian regulator is considering enforcement action against platforms, and the maximum fine has been doubled to A$99 million.

Meta announced it has suspended 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to users under 16, from December when Australia's ban law took effect through last June. This is a significant jump from the 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts the company reported removing by January. The world's largest social network states its desire to comply with the law, despite it and other platforms expressing strong opposition to it. Meanwhile, Australia's internet regulator is considering filing enforcement action against several platforms, including those owned by Meta, for allegedly failing to take sufficient steps to meet the law's requirements. No other platform has yet published compliance data matching the date range Meta provided, but data from the Australian government and independent studies indicate that more than 80% of those aged 16 and under continued to use social networks during the first three months of the ban. The groundbreaking law, which took effect on December 10, was promoted by the Australian government due to growing concern about the impact of social networks on the physical and mental health of children and teenagers. While other countries around the world consider similar age restrictions, Australia accuses platforms of deliberately obstructing the law. In response, the country passed a law doubling the maximum fine for non-compliance to A$99 million (about US$69.75 million) and granting the regulator broader investigative powers. This coming Friday, representatives of Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snapchat are expected to testify before a parliamentary inquiry committee. "Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow," Meta said in a statement to Reuters. "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." Meta noted it uses artificial intelligence to analyze user profiles and look for clues of underage accounts, and has also blocked the ability to open a new account for users whose previous account was deleted.