Australian youth social media ban shuts down 4.7M accounts in first month – National
Social media companies have blocked the accounts of around five million young Australians just a month after the world’s first ban on under-16s, the country’s internet regulator said, in a sign the move has had an immediate and far-reaching impact.
The eSafety Commissioner said that so far platforms have removed an estimated 4.7 million accounts held by under-16s to comply with the law that came into force on December 10. Some platforms said they would start closing affected accounts weeks before the deadline.
The figures represent the government’s first compliance data and suggest that platforms are taking significant steps to comply with a law that could see them fined up to A$49.5 million (USD$33 million) for non-compliance, but does not hold children or their parents accountable.
The figures are significantly higher than the averages distributed before the law and equate to more than two accounts for every Australian aged 10 to 16, based on population data. Meta previously said it had taken down less than 550,000 accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
The minimum age rule also applies to Google’s YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter.
Get weekly health news
Get the latest medical news and health information brought to you every Sunday.
Reddit has said it is in compliance but is suing the government to overturn the ban. The government says it will defend itself.
“It is clear that eSafety’s oversight and coordination with the forums is yielding significant results,” said Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in a statement.
Some young accounts remained active and it was too early to say they were fully compliant, he added. All the companies that have been affected by the ban have said they will follow it.
Inman Grant said effective age verification would take time to roll out but feedback from age verification providers – usually third-party software vendors employed by the platforms – showed Australia’s rollout was going well, aided by public education before the ban.
Some smaller social media apps reported an increase in downloads in Australia ahead of the December release, and eSafety said it would monitor what it called migration trends. But it said the initial spikes in downloads haven’t translated into continued usage.
Research by mental health professionals will track the long-term impact of the ban for several years.
