Meta Shuts Down 750,000 Underage Accounts in Australia

Meta Platforms Inc. shut down more than 750,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts in Australia on August 13, targeting users believed to be under the age of 16. The company removed 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts using AI-powered detection to identify contextual clues, such as mentions of school grades. This action follows a landmark youth social media ban implemented in December.

Despite these removals, the eSafety Commissioner reported that the ban only marginally reduced underage usage during its first three months. Data from March indicated that 81.5% of users under 16 continued to use social media, a trend the regulator attributed to ineffective age assurance measures.

In response to these findings and perceived non-compliance, the Australian government introduced legislation to double maximum penalties for platforms to A$99 million. Representatives from Meta and other technology firms are scheduled to testify before a parliamentary inquiry on August 14 regarding their compliance with the ban.