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   Meta wipes over 500,000 Australian teen accounts in a single week  but says   
   world-first social media crackdown is failing   
      
   Date:   
   Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:06:42 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   We're a month into the social media ban in Australia, and Meta is reluctantly   
   complying with it.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The fallout from the Australian government's decision to ban under-16s from   
   social media continues: Meta has posted an update on the action it's taken to   
   adhere to the new rules, while reiterating its belief that there are better   
   ways to protect teens.    
      
   By December 11, a day after the ban came into effect, Meta says it had    
   removed access to 544,052 accounts thought to belong to under-16s in   
   Australia. That number covers the Instagram, Facebook, and Threads platforms   
   all owned by Meta.    
      
   The young users affected did get 14 days of notice to download their   
   information and  presumably  let their contacts know where they could be    
   found in the future (Facebook Messenger is actually exempt from the ban, for   
   example).    
      
   Australian authorities have introduced the ban in the interests of child   
   safety , citing concerns over screen time, inappropriate contact from adults,   
   and exposure to harmful content  including material depicting violence,   
   bullying, and mental health issues.   
      
   'A better way forward' -- Not all of Metas apps are included in the ban   
      
   Meta also uses the opportunity of the update to express its "concerns" about   
   this new ban. "Some of the initial impacts we have seen as a result of the    
   law that suggest it is not meeting its objectives of increasing the safety    
   and well-being of young Australians," writes the Meta team.    
      
   "We still believe there is a better way forward, which is age verification    
   and parental approval at the app store level," it added.    
      
   That would put the onus on the likes of Google and Apple to verify the age of   
   users. Meta is also pushing a new non-profit called the OpenAge Initiative ,   
   which aims to standardize age verification processes  and prevent teens from   
   switching to less well regulated apps that may not be as diligent when it   
   comes to checking how old its users are.    
      
   Meta says it will continue to "engage constructively" with the Australian   
   government to "find a better way forward". It doesn't seem to be opposed to   
   age verification per se, but does want it to be more tightly regulated and   
   consistent across platforms.    
      
   The entire business model of social media apps is getting as many people as   
   possible to spend as much time as possible inside the apps, of course. Even   
   so, these companies are feeling the pressure to take more responsibility: in   
   the last few years, Meta has added several features for younger users    
   designed to keep them safe online.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/social-media/meta-wipes-over-500-000-austr   
   alian-teen-accounts-in-a-single-week-but-says-world-first-social-media-crackdo   
   wn-is-failing   
      
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