Overview
- The government says about 4.7 million accounts identified as under 16 were deactivated or restricted shortly after the Dec. 10 rollout, with all 10 covered platforms reporting on time and broadly complying.
- The law requires age-restricted services to take reasonable steps to block under-16 accounts or face fines up to A$49.5 million, with messaging-only services exempt.
- Meta reports removing roughly 550,000 Australian accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Threads and is pressing for app-store age checks to limit circumvention and app switching.
- Regulators acknowledge some underage accounts remain active and report short-lived spikes in downloads of alternative apps and VPNs as teens sought workarounds.
- Reddit has filed a legal challenge to overturn the restrictions as eSafety prepares new rules on AI companions and oversees multi-year studies, and policymakers in countries including the U.K., Denmark and France consider similar measures.