No Facebook, Instagram for children: Meta deletes more than half a million teen accounts in Australia

Meta has deleted more than half a million social media accounts in Australia after the country’s under-16s social media ban came into force, marking one of the strongest government interventions yet aimed at limiting children’s access to major platforms. The removals affected accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Threads that Meta believes were operated by users below the legal age. Australia is the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide ban of this scale.

Meta said it deactivated 544,052 accounts between 4 December and 11 December after beginning enforcement of the law.