Ahead of the ban on social media for children and young people coming into force next week, Meta has started excluding those under 16.
Dec 4, 2025, 3:59 amDec 4, 2025, 3:59 am
“However, compliance with the law will be an ongoing process,” said a Meta spokesman. “We are working intensively to remove all users who we know are under 16 years old by December 10th,” said the spokesman for Facebook and Instagram parent Meta on Thursday.
Australia is cracking down on underage social media consumption. (symbol image)Image: keystone
The Meta spokesman also said that young users could save their history. “Before you turn 16, we will inform you that you will soon regain access to these platforms and your content will be restored exactly as you left it,” the spokesperson continued.
Global pioneer
Australia’s social media ban on minors comes into force on Wednesday next week. The law requires companies to remove the accounts of users under the age of 16. If they violate this, they could face a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. However, it is still unclear how the implementation of the legal requirements should be monitored.
Australia is a global pioneer with its strongly worded law. The ban is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of young people. Instagram alone is said to have around 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok are also affected. The messenger services Whatsapp and Discord as well as the gaming platform Roblox are currently excluded. (sda/afp)