Meta, the parent company of social networks Instagram, Facebook and Threads, has started deleting accounts of children and teenagers under 16 a week before the official ban comes into effect, the BBC reports.
The technology giant announced in November that it had begun warning account holders aged 13 to 15 that their social network profiles would no longer be accessible from the 4th of December. It is estimated that the changes will affect around 150,000 Facebook and 350,000 Instagram accounts, while Threads can only be accessed if you have an active Instagram account.
Australia is the first country in the world to introduce a social media age restriction, and companies could face fines of up to 33 million US dollars if they fail to put in place measures to prevent people under 16 from creating accounts on social media.
A Meta spokeswoman told the BBC that making changes to comply with the law would be an ongoing and multi-layered process. She added that the company was committed to complying with the law, but believed a more effective and privacy-friendly approach was needed. The government should also require app stores to verify users’ ages before downloading, as this would eliminate the need for age verification on various apps.
Meta said that
users under 16 would be able to download and save their posts, videos and messages before their accounts were deactivated.
Teenagers who believe their age has been incorrectly determined will be able to request a review and submit a video of themselves to prove their age. A driver’s license or government-issued ID will also be used to prove age.
Other social media platforms affected by the new rules include X, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick and Twitch.
The Australian government has said the ban is aimed at protecting children from the harmful effects of social media, but critics have said the law could further isolate certain groups of children who rely on these platforms to communicate with the outside world, and that banning popular social media platforms will force children to seek out less-supervised corners of the internet for communication.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said on the 3rd of December that there would be some challenges in the first days and weeks of the ban, but the ban is aimed at protecting Gen Alpha (those under 15) and future generations. She said one law could protect an entire generation from falling prey to predatory algorithms.
Wells also said she would be watching closely to see if the ban would lead to a mass exodus of children to other, less well-known platforms.
YouTube, which was not originally set to be subject to the new law, said the law was rushed and that prohibiting children from using an account linked to a parent’s account would make the platform less secure.
Australia’s ban is being watched with interest around the world. A government-commissioned study this year found that 96% of Australian children aged 10 to 15 use social media, and seven in 10 have come across harmful content.
Read also: Australia to ban children from social media; seeks age verification methods