Overview
- Meta has started notifying users it believes are 13–15 via in‑app messages, email and SMS, giving 14 days to download or delete data and to add contact details for reactivation at 16.
- Account deactivations and blocks on new under‑16 sign‑ups begin on December 4, with Meta expecting to remove all known under‑16 accounts by December 10.
- Affected users can retain Messenger access, and Meta estimates about 350,000 Instagram and 150,000 Facebook accounts belong to Australians aged 13–15.
- Users who contest a lockout or change their age to over 16 must verify through Yoti’s video selfie or government ID, with Meta saying it will seek extra data only when age is in doubt.
- Australia’s law compels platforms to take reasonable steps to bar under‑16s or face fines up to A$49.5 million, with TikTok and Snapchat indicating compliance as YouTube and X question inclusion or signal opposition; official trials flagged a 13.9% false negative rate for 16‑year‑olds in facial age checks.