Social networks blocked 4.7 million minors’ accounts after a ban in Australia

Australia forces large platforms, such as Meta, TikTok or YouTube, to prevent children and adolescents from having accounts on their sites as part of groundbreaking legislation in the world that came into force on December 10.

Initial figures show social media took significant steps to restrict users under 16considered the Australian eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.

“It is clear that online safety regulatory guidance and collaboration with platforms is already yielding significant results,” he said in a statement.

Under this new legislation, Companies face fines equivalent to $33 million if they do not take “reasonable measures” to comply.

Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta said last week that had removed 331,000 minor accounts on Instagram, 173,000 from Facebook and 40,000 from Threads during the days before December 11.

However, the company reiterated its call that app stores be required to verify users’ ages and obtain parental permission before children under 16 can download one of their platforms.

This is the only way to stop teenagers from migrating to new apps to bypass the ban, Meta added.

Fight against circumvention

The Australian eSafety Commission clarified that accurately verifying age takes time, but hopes the platforms will improve their performance.

“It is also the industry’s responsibility to prevent circumventionas described in the eSafety industry guidelines,” the regulator said.

Inman Grant said it’s too early to say whether tech companies are fully meeting their obligations, but early signs are encouraging.

“Although some children may find creative ways to stay on social media, it is important to remember that, like other safety laws we have in society, success is measured by harm reduction and restoration of cultural norms”, he justified.

Downloads from lesser-known platforms such as BlueSky and Lemon8 skyrocketed before the teen ban was implemented.

However, both social networks acknowledged they were subject to the legislation and are cooperating with the Australian regulator, Inman Grant said.

“Given the large number of online services and the rapid evolution of the technology industry, it is impossible to list all services that meet the conditions and are required to comply with the minimum age obligation on social networks,” he explained.

“As I have long said, our enforcement approach will continue to be on the platforms with the largest number of Australian users,” the commissioner said.