Australia: Meta deletes 550 profiles as minors ban begins

CANBERRA, January 13 ------ Meta has removed nearly 550,000 user profiles of users under the age of 16 as part of Australia's ban on minors accessing social media platforms, the first measure of its kind in the world. Between Dec. 4 and 11, over 330,000 Instagram accounts, approximately 173,000 Facebook accounts, and nearly 40,000 Threads accounts were deleted.

The ban officially went into effect on Dec. 10, but Meta began removing users a week earlier, notifying affected users in November and allowing them to download their data.

Previously, the company estimated that there were approximately 300,000 Instagram users and 150,000 Facebook users in Australia between the ages of 13 and 15, in addition to cases of minors under the age of 16 registering with false information or with the help of their parents.

Meta relies on the British company Yoti to verify age, using ID or video selfies. The company reiterated that compliance with the law will require gradual adjustments and called for app stores to also be required to verify age and obtain parental consent. According to a university survey, 79 percent of Australian adults support the ban, while 70 percent of minors are opposed. The measure limits access to ten major social platforms for children under 16, including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Source: pna.gov.ph