Meta says it has deactivated 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia as regulators intensify efforts to enforce new youth social media restrictions.
Meta has deactivated about 756,000 accounts in Australia believed to belong to users younger than 16, highlighting the scale of the country’s new restrictions on children’s access to social media.
The company said Thursday that the figure covers approximately 462,000 suspected underage Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts. The accounts were removed between December, when the restrictions took effect, and June.
Meta said it used artificial intelligence-based systems to identify potentially underage users by examining contextual signals in account activity. Such indicators can include posts related to birthday celebrations, references to school grades and reports from other users.
The company said enforcement is continuing and the number of affected accounts could rise. Meta also said it supports the broader objective of creating safer and more age-appropriate online environments for young people while working to meet its obligations under Australia’s social media regulations.
The crackdown comes amid increasing scrutiny of major technology platforms over how their products affect children and teenagers. Regulators and child-safety advocates have raised concerns about features such as endless scrolling, engagement-focused recommendation systems and frequent notifications, arguing that these mechanisms can encourage prolonged use and interfere with sleep, education and well-being.
Australia has also strengthened the financial consequences for platforms that fail to comply. Maximum penalties for violations have reportedly been increased to about A$99 million, while regulators have received broader powers to examine company records and assess whether platforms are adequately enforcing age restrictions.
The developments are part of a wider international debate over how social media companies should protect younger users. Governments in several countries are examining stronger age-assurance measures as concerns grow over excessive social media use and its potential links to anxiety, depression and body-image problems among adolescents.
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