Meta removes 756,000 under-16 accounts in Australia Amid Social Media Ban

By Sunday Ameh

Meta has deactivated more than 756,000 accounts believed to belong to Australians under the age of 16 as the country’s world-first social media age restriction comes under renewed scrutiny.

The accounts, removed between December 2025 and June 2026, included about 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts, according to Meta.

The action follows Australia’s law requiring major social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from maintaining accounts on covered platforms.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been using age-detection technology and other measures to identify accounts suspected of belonging to under-16 users.

Despite its opposition to the legislation, the technology giant said it was committed to complying with the Australian law.

The latest figures come as Australian authorities examine whether social media companies are effectively enforcing the restriction.

Reports cited by Reuters indicate that studies found more than 80 per cent of under-16s were still using social media during the initial months of the ban, raising questions about how effectively the measure can prevent young people from accessing online platforms.

Meta’s latest action is significantly higher than the number of accounts it initially deactivated when enforcement began. The company had earlier disclosed that it deactivated more than 544,000 suspected under-16 accounts in December 2025 across Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

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Australian regulators are expected to continue monitoring compliance, while technology companies face increasing pressure to demonstrate that their systems can effectively identify underage users without unnecessarily restricting adults.

The Australian experiment has also attracted international attention as governments consider whether similar age restrictions could be introduced to limit children’s exposure to social media.

Meta has argued that outright bans may push young users towards less regulated online spaces, while Australian authorities maintain that the restriction is aimed at protecting children from potential harms associated with social media use.