Meta has removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts it suspected belonged to Australians under 16 since the country introduced its world-first social media age ban in December.
The company said it deactivated 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts between the ban’s introduction on December 10 and June. The figures represent a sharp increase from the 504,000 accounts Meta reported removing by January.
The action comes as Australia’s internet regulator considers legal enforcement against social media platforms accused of failing to take adequate steps to comply with the under-16 restriction.
Meta said it was committed to complying with the law, despite having previously opposed the legislation.
“Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow,” Meta said.
The company added that it shared the Australian government’s goal of ensuring young people have “safe, age-appropriate experiences online”.
AI used to identify underage users
Meta said it was using artificial intelligence to identify accounts that may belong to people under 16 by analysing profile information and other “contextual clues”.
These include birthday celebrations, references to school grades and reports from users about suspected underage accounts.
The company also said it had removed the option for users to make additional attempts to create an account after a previous account had been deleted for being underage.
Australia’s social media ban took effect on December 10 amid concerns over the impact of social media on children’s physical and mental health.
However, government figures and independent studies indicated that more than eight in 10 under-16s remained on social media during the first three months of the ban.
The Australian government has accused social media companies of deliberately setting the restrictions up to fail and has proposed increasing the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million ($69.75 million).
Representatives from Meta, TikTok, Google-owned YouTube and Snapchat are scheduled to appear before a parliamentary inquiry on Friday alongside Australian government and regulatory officials.
The developments could have wider implications as other countries consider introducing similar age restrictions for social media platforms.
