A$50M Fine Threat: Meta Deactivating 500,000 Teen Accounts for Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — The countdown has begun for a massive upheaval in Australia’s digital landscape, as tech giant Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) has started notifying approximately 500,000 teenagers that their accounts will be deactivated ahead of the country’s world-first social media ban for under-16s.

The ban, described by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as aimed at “letting kids be kids,” takes full legal effect on 10 December. Meta, which estimates around 350,000 Instagram users and 150,000 Facebook users in the 13-15 age bracket, will begin blocking new sign-ups and revoking access to existing accounts from 4 December.

The compliance pressure is immense. Social media platforms—including TikTok, YouTube, X, and Reddit—which fail to take “reasonable steps” to block under-16s face steep fines of up to A$50 million (£25m).

Meta is complying but has voiced preference for a system requiring parental approval, warning that “Teens are resourceful, and may attempt to circumvent age assurance measures.”

To combat circumvention, Meta is offering users who believe they are old enough to retain their accounts two verification options:

Submitting a “video selfie” for facial age scans.

Providing government-issued ID (such as a driver’s licence).

These methods were tested earlier this year by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), which noted that while the tools have merit, there is “not a single ubiquitous solution” guaranteed to be effective everywhere.

The e-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has defended the mandate, stating the ban is aimed at protecting teens “from pressures and risks they can be exposed to while logged in.”