Meta has removed more than 756,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16 since the country’s landmark social media ban came into force, as regulators consider tougher enforcement against platforms failing to comply, Reuters reported.
The social media giant said it had deactivated 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts between December and June, up sharply from the 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook accounts it reported removing by January.
Australia’s world-first law banning social media access for under-16s came into effect on December 10, with the government citing concerns over the impact of social media on children and young teenagers.
Meta said enforcement was ongoing and the number of removed accounts would continue to rise.
The latest figures come as Australia’s internet regulator considers legal action against platforms, including Meta-owned services, over concerns that they have not taken sufficient steps to comply with the ban.
Despite the enforcement efforts, government figures and several independent studies found that more than eight in 10 under-16s were still using social media during the first three months of the ban.
Australia has accused social media platforms of effectively setting the restrictions up to fail. It has since introduced legislation that would double the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million (US$69.75 million) while giving regulators greater powers to obtain documents.
Representatives from Meta, TikTok, Google and Snap are due to appear before a parliamentary inquiry on Friday alongside government and regulatory officials.
Meta said it was using artificial intelligence to identify potentially underage users by analysing profile information and online activity, including contextual clues such as birthday celebrations, references to school grades and reports from other users.
The company has also removed the option for users to repeatedly create new accounts after an earlier account has been deleted for being underage.
