Deactivated as many as 4.7 million teenage profiles in the first month of the ban in Australia

Internet Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said platforms have so far removed about 4.7 million accounts owned by under-16s to comply with the law, which took effect on Dec. 10. Some platforms have said they will begin closing such accounts weeks ahead of schedule.

It is the first government compliance data and suggests the platforms are taking significant steps to comply with the law, which could fine them up to $33 million for non-compliance, while holding children and their parents accountable.

The figure is far higher than estimates circulating before the law and equates to every Australian aged 10 to 16 having more than two accounts, based on population data. Meta previously stated that it had removed approximately 550,000 accounts of minors from its Instagram, Facebook and Threads accounts. The minimum age rule also applies to Google’s YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter. Reddit said it stands by, but is suing the government to overturn the ban. The government says it will defend itself.

“It is clear that the regulatory guidance and eSafety’s engagement with the platforms are delivering significant results,” Commissioner Grant said in a statement.

Some accounts of minors are still active and it is too early to declare full compliance, she added. All companies that were initially covered by the ban said that they would comply.

Inman Grant said it would take time for effective age checks to be established, but feedback from age assurance providers – usually third-party software providers that engage the platforms – indicated that the rollout in Australia had been smooth, aided by public education before the ban.

Some smaller social media apps have reported a surge in downloads in Australia ahead of the ban’s introduction in December, and eSafety said it would monitor so-called migration trends. But he said the initial jump in downloads hasn’t translated into sustainable usage.

As part of the study, mental health experts will monitor the long-term impact of the ban over the course of several years.