Australians under 16 will be removed from Facebook and Instagram on December 4, tech giant Meta said on Thursday, as Canberra prepares to enforce sweeping laws banning teenagers from social media.
Starting December 10, Australia will force social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under 16 or face heavy fines.
Meta said it would begin removing teens from its platforms before the ban takes effect.
“Starting today, Meta will notify Australian users, who it understands are between the ages of 13 and 15, that they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook,” Meta said in a statement.
“Meta will begin blocking new under-16 accounts and revoking existing access starting December 4, hoping to remove all known under-16s by December 10.”
According to government figures, there are around 350,000 Instagram users aged 13 to 15 in Australia and around 150,000 Facebook accounts.
Meta has started warning affected users that they will soon be banned.
“Soon you will no longer be able to use Facebook and your profile will not be visible to you or others,” reads a message sent to affected users.
“When you turn 16, we will inform you that you can start using Facebook again.”
Teens will be able to access their accounts “exactly how they left them” once they turn 16, Meta told them.
Heavy fines
Accounts that were flagged in error were able to verify their age by taking a “selfie video” or by providing a government-issued ID.
Social media companies have previously described the laws as “vague”, “problematic” and “rushed”.
Meta expressed his concerns again on Thursday.
“We share the Australian Government’s goal of creating safe and age-appropriate online experiences, but isolating teenagers from their friends and communities is not the answer.”
There is great interest in whether Australia’s broad restrictions can work as regulators around the world grapple with the dangers of social media.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will introduce a similar bill to restrict children’s use of social media.
And the Dutch government this year advised parents to ban children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat.
Social media companies caught breaking the laws will face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$32 million).
On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world.
But some experts worry that the law is merely symbolic because of the difficulty in implementing and monitoring online age verification.
