Meta Says It Removed 756,000 Facebook And Instagram Accounts Under Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban

Meta says it has removed access to more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts in Australia that it assessed as belonging to people under 16, as the company continues enforcing the country's social media age restrictions.

According to Reuters, the total amounts to around 756,000 accounts, comprising 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts removed between the lead-up to the restrictions and June 2026.

TL;DR

 

• Meta says it removed access to more than 750,000 suspected under-16 Facebook and Instagram accounts in Australia.
• Reuters puts the total at 756,000, including 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts.
• Meta is using AI-powered age detection, reports and re-registration controls as enforcement continues.
• Regulators are still assessing whether platforms are doing enough to comply.

Meta revealed the figures in an official newsroom update covering enforcement between December 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. The company said more than 500,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts had already been removed ahead of Australia's age restrictions taking effect, with additional accounts removed in subsequent months.

Source

“Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow,” Meta said, adding that it reports its enforcement figures to Australia's eSafety Commissioner and plans to provide further public updates.

Reuters provided a more detailed breakdown, reporting that Meta deactivated 462,000 suspected under-16 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts during the period. Reuters and Bloomberg both centered their reports on Meta's disclosure that more than 750,000 suspected under-16 accounts had been shut down as the company responds to Australia's rules.

How Is Meta Identifying Under-16 Accounts?

Meta said it is using AI-powered systems to analyse account profiles, including posts, comments, biographies and captions, for contextual indicators that could suggest a user is below 16.

The company said these signals could include references to school grades or birthday celebrations. Reports submitted by parents and other users can also undergo AI-assisted review, while Meta says it has strengthened systems designed to stop users from simply registering another account after a previous one is removed.

Meta also changed the Apple App Store age rating for its apps to 16+ in Australia. Between June and July, it ran an education campaign across Facebook and Instagram that the company says reached around 1.3 million people with information about age detection, account removal and correcting an incorrectly stated age.

LiveMint also highlighted Meta's use of AI-powered detection and its efforts to make reporting suspected underage accounts easier for parents and the wider community.

Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Rules Remain Under Scrutiny

Australia's social media age restrictions took effect on December 10, 2025. Under the rules, age-restricted social media platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping accounts.

Although commonly described as a social media ban, Australia's eSafety Commissioner clarifies that the restriction applies to platforms rather than imposing penalties on children, parents or carers. Platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, Threads and others fall within the age-restricted framework.

However, implementation remains a challenge.

LiveMint, citing findings from eSafety, reported that more than 80% of children aged 10 to 15 were still using social media almost three months after the restrictions took effect. The regulator identified weaknesses including users changing their declared ages and repeatedly attempting age-verification processes.

 

Reuters similarly reported that government figures and independent studies indicated more than eight in ten under-16s remained on social media during the first three months. It also reported that the Australian government has introduced legislation that would increase the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million and expand the regulator's information-gathering powers.

Meta, meanwhile, maintains that it is meeting its obligations but wants a more consistent age-verification system across the technology industry. The company argues that a reliable age signal could instead be provided at the operating system or app store level, allowing age to be established once rather than separately across numerous apps.

With hundreds of thousands of accounts already removed and regulators continuing to examine whether existing safeguards are effective, Australia's experiment is becoming a major test of whether social media age restrictions can be practically enforced at scale.