Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Triggers 4.7 Million Account Removals in First Month

Overview

• The eSafety regulator reports about 4.7 million under-16 accounts were deactivated after enforcement began on December 10.
• The law applies to major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Twitch and Kick, with penalties up to A$49.5 million for breaches.
• Meta says it removed roughly 550,000 underage accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Threads, including 331,000 on Instagram before December 11.
• Reddit states it is complying while suing to overturn the ban, and the government says it will defend the law in court.
• eSafety notes some under-16 accounts remain active as age checks bed in, reports short-lived migration to smaller apps, and launches a multi-year mental-health study to track impacts.