As Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 approaches, Meta has begun removing accounts from its platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. The law, which will take effect from 10 December 2025, requires social media providers to keep underage users off their platforms or face a fine of AUD49.5 million (~RM134 million).
Like Meta, many other companies initially pushed back against the law, but ultimately chose to comply. Since then, the platforms have reached out to affected users, advising them to download their photos and contacts. Aside from that, these platforms are offering the underage users a choice of either deleting their accounts outright or just freezing them until they turn 16.
Speaking on the legislation, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant described a teen social media ban as “the first domino to fall” in a global push to rein in major tech firms. While initially apprehensive about the blunt-force approach, the regulator stated that she has come to embrace it after incremental changes proved inadequate.
Inman Grant went on to highlight these platforms’ use of powerful, harmful, deceptive design features. She argued that children are powerless against these features, which even adults cannot combat. At the moment, 96% of Australian teenagers under 16 have social media accounts. This figure amounts to more than one million out of a population of 27 million.
Of course, the commissioner’s insistence of the ban’s significance is not unfounded. As it stands, Malaysia has been looking at Australia’s online safety model as an example. A similar social media ban for children under 16 is heading our way next year, complete with mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) identity verification.
(Source: Reuters)
