The social media ban for youngsters beneath 16 with the slogan “Let Them Be Children” is seen projected on the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 10, 2025. EPA-Yonhap
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Social media firms have revoked entry to about 4.7 million accounts recognized as belonging to youngsters in Australia because the nation banned use of the platforms by these beneath 16, officers mentioned.
“We stared down all people who mentioned it couldn’t be finished, a number of the strongest and wealthy firms on the earth and their supporters,” communications minister Anika Wells instructed reporters on Friday. “Now Australian mother and father will be assured that their youngsters can have their childhoods again.”
The figures, reported to Australia’s authorities by 10 social media platforms, had been the primary to point out the dimensions of the landmark ban because it was enacted in December over fears concerning the results of dangerous on-line environments on younger folks. The regulation provoked fraught debates in Australia about expertise use, privateness, youngster security and psychological well being and has prompted different international locations to contemplate related measures.
Beneath Australian regulation, Fb, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of as much as 49.5 million Australian {dollars} ($33.2 million) in the event that they fail to take cheap steps to take away the accounts of Australian youngsters youthful than 16. Messaging providers akin to WhatsApp and Fb Messenger are exempt.
To confirm age, platforms can both request copies of identification paperwork, use a 3rd celebration to use age estimation expertise to an account holder’s face, or make inferences from information already accessible such has how lengthy an account has been held.
About 2.5 million Australians are aged between 8 and 15, mentioned the nation’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, and previous estimates urged 84% of 8- to 12-year-olds held social media accounts. It was not identified what number of accounts had been held throughout the ten platforms however Inman Grant mentioned the determine of 4.7 million “deactivated or restricted” was encouraging.
“We’re stopping predatory social media firms from accessing our youngsters,” Inman Grant mentioned.
The ten largest firms lined by the ban had been compliant with it and had reported elimination figures to Australia’s regulator on time, the commissioner mentioned. She added that social media firms had been anticipated to shift their efforts from imposing the ban to stopping youngsters from creating new accounts or in any other case circumventing the prohibition.
Australian officers didn’t break the figures down by platform. However Meta, which owns Fb, Instagram and Threads, mentioned this week that by the day after the ban got here into impact it had eliminated practically 550,000 accounts belonging to customers understood to be beneath 16.
Within the weblog submit divulging the figures, Meta criticized the ban and mentioned smaller platforms the place the ban does not apply may not prioritize security. The corporate additionally famous shopping platforms would nonetheless current content material to youngsters primarily based on algorithms — a priority that led to the ban’s enactment.
The regulation was broadly standard amongst mother and father and youngster security campaigners. On-line privateness advocates and a few teams representing youngsters opposed it, with the latter citing the help present in on-line areas by susceptible younger folks or these geographically remoted in Australia’s sprawling rural areas.
Some mentioned that they had managed to idiot age assessing applied sciences or had been helped by mother and father or older siblings to bypass the ban.
Since Australia started debating the measures in 2024, different international locations have thought of following swimsuit. Denmark’s authorities is amongst them , saying in November that it had deliberate to implement a social media ban for youngsters beneath 15.
“The truth that despite some skepticism on the market, it’s working and being replicated now world wide, is one thing that could be a supply of Australian satisfaction,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned Friday.
Opposition lawmakers have urged that younger folks have circumvented the ban simply or are migrating to different apps which are much less scrutinized than the biggest platforms. Inman Grant mentioned Friday that information seen by her workplace confirmed a spike in downloads of different apps when the ban was enacted however not a spike in utilization.
“There isn’t a actual long-term developments but that we will say however we’re participating,” she mentioned.
In the meantime, she mentioned, the regulator she heads deliberate to introduce “world-leading AI companion and chatbot restrictions in March.” She didn’t disclose additional particulars.
