Meta Cuts Over 750,000 Under‑16 Accounts in Australia

Meta Platforms announced Thursday that it has taken down more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts it believes belong to users under the age of 16 in Australia. The figure sounds huge – and it is, especially when you consider that over 500,000 of those accounts were removed even before the law officially kicked in last December.

Breaking the numbers down, the company says it has disabled roughly 462,000 Instagram accounts and about 294,000 Facebook accounts. The removals are part of an ongoing enforcement effort that, according to Meta, will keep growing as the company refines its detection tools.

How does Meta find these accounts? According to a statement from its Menlo Park headquarters, it relies on AI‑powered age‑verification technology, plus a suite of other checks. The firm also promises regular reporting to the Australian government and public updates to stay transparent.

Australia’s new online‑safety law, which came into force in December, obliges major platforms – including Meta, Snap and TikTok’s parent ByteDance – to ban anyone under 16 from holding an account, under penalty of hefty fines. The move was driven by mounting concerns about the mental‑health impact of social media on kids.

Early data from the eSafety Commissioner, however, suggests the ban’s effect has been modest so far. A survey released last month found that 81.5% of under‑16s still reported using a social‑media platform in March, a slight dip from 85.9% before the law took effect. The regulator blamed “ineffective implementation of age‑assurance measures” for the limited drop.

For those youngsters who remain on the platforms, the eSafety report noted that many haven’t even been asked to verify their age. About 38% of 10‑ to 15‑year‑olds on Instagram said they never saw an age‑check prompt, and roughly 28% said the same for Facebook.

Meta’s spokesperson reiterated that the company continues to close accounts and is adding extra safeguards to catch under‑16 users. When asked how many minors might still be lurking on its services, the spokesperson declined to give a figure.

In short, the crackdown is in motion, but the early signs point to a cat‑and‑mouse game between regulators, platforms and tech‑savvy teens. Whether the Australian model will spark similar bans worldwide remains to be seen, but for now, more than three‑quarters of a million youth accounts have vanished from Meta’s Australian landscape.