Meta Deletes 756,000 Teen Accounts in Australia

Meta Removes 756,000 Teen Accounts in Australia, But Thousands of Under-16s Are Still Getting Through

1. Meta Just Deleted 756,000 Teen Accounts. So Why Are Australian Kids Still on Social Media?

Australia’s world-first social media age ban is putting unprecedented pressure on Big Tech, with Meta revealing that it has removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to users believed to be under 16. But new data suggests the massive crackdown has not stopped teenagers from finding ways onto social media.

Meta says it removed 756,000 accounts suspected of belonging to Australians younger than 16 between the introduction of the restrictions and June 2026.

The figure includes approximately 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts.

The scale of the removals shows just how aggressively the new Australian rules are reshaping the country’s social media landscape.

But there is a problem.

The ban appears to be far from airtight.

Australia’s Social Media Ban Is Now in Force

Australia’s social media minimum-age law came into effect on December 10, 2025.

Under the rules, major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, X, Threads, Twitch and Kick must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from maintaining accounts.

The responsibility falls primarily on the platforms rather than children or their parents.

Companies that fail to comply can face substantial penalties, with the Australian government moving to increase the maximum penalty to A$99 million.

The government says the policy is designed to protect children from online harms and give young Australians more protection during a critical stage of development.

Meta Used AI to Hunt for Underage Users

Removing hundreds of thousands of accounts manually would be virtually impossible.

Meta says it therefore relies heavily on technology to identify potentially underage users.

The company has used AI-powered detection systems to analyze signals including posts, comments, biographies and captions for clues that an account may belong to someone younger than 16.

Meta also considers reports from users and information gathered during account creation.

The company says it has also introduced measures designed to prevent users whose accounts have been removed from simply creating another account and returning to the platform.

That creates a fascinating new battle between automated age detection and teenagers attempting to bypass it.

756,000 Accounts Is Only Part of the Story

The number is enormous, but it does not necessarily mean 756,000 individual teenagers were permanently removed from social media.

Meta’s figure represents accounts it suspected were operated by Australians under 16.

And the Australian government says the total number of under-16 accounts removed, deactivated or restricted across all affected platforms has exceeded 5 million since the law began.

Earlier figures released by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner showed that approximately 4.7 million under-16 accounts had already been deactivated, removed or restricted shortly after the restrictions took effect.

The difference between the platform figures illustrates how difficult it is to measure the true number of young users affected.

But Teenagers Are Still Finding Their Way Back

This is where Australia’s experiment becomes particularly interesting.

Despite the huge number of accounts being removed, early government data indicates that more than 80% of under-16s were still accessing social media during the initial months of the restrictions.

Australian regulators have warned that the data is preliminary and that enforcement is still developing.

Social media companies have also argued that it is too early to judge the effectiveness of the law based on the initial figures.

In other words, Australia may have removed millions of accounts without completely removing young people from social media.

The Age-Verification Problem

The biggest technical challenge is simple:

How does a platform know someone’s real age?

A teenager can lie about their birthday.

They can create a new account.

They can potentially use another person’s information.

And increasingly sophisticated AI systems can make age estimation possible, but not necessarily perfect.

Platforms therefore have to balance two competing demands.

They need enough information to determine whether someone is under 16.

But collecting too much information about users can create another privacy problem.

That is particularly important in a country that is simultaneously trying to strengthen protections for children and limit unnecessary collection of personal information.

Meta Says the Enforcement Is Not Over

Meta has indicated that the number of removed accounts will continue to increase.

The company says enforcement remains ongoing and that it reports its actions to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.

That means the 756,000 figure should not be interpreted as the final number.

More accounts could be identified and removed as Meta improves its age-detection systems and as teenagers attempt to circumvent the restrictions.

Australia Is Turning Into a Global Test Case

What happens in Australia could influence governments around the world.

Several countries are now considering stronger age restrictions for social media.

France, for example, recently faced a major legal setback after its top constitutional court blocked a proposed ban on social media access for children under 15, citing concerns around freedom of expression, privacy and unclear safeguards.

That contrast highlights the difficult balance governments face.

Protecting children online is one goal.

Protecting privacy and fundamental freedoms is another.

Australia has chosen a particularly aggressive approach—and the rest of the world is watching the results.

The Bigger Question: Can Social Media Actually Keep Children Out?

Meta’s removal of 756,000 accounts demonstrates that technology companies can take significant action when governments impose strict requirements.

But the continuing presence of under-16 users raises a much harder question.

Can any social media platform realistically guarantee that millions of young people will stay off its services?

Australia’s experiment suggests that deleting accounts may be the easy part.

Keeping them from coming back could be much harder.

As regulators prepare to increase enforcement pressure and platforms continue developing AI-powered age detection, the battle over children’s access to social media is only beginning.

And if Australia’s experiment succeeds, other governments may follow.

If it fails, the world may have to rethink whether a social media age ban is technologically—and practically—possible.