Nearly five million teen social media accounts vanish as Australia’s under-16 ban bites

Nearly five million social media accounts linked to Australian teenagers were removed or restricted following the rollout of Australia’s under-16 ban, according to early government data.

Initial figures released overnight by the eSafety Commissioner show platforms restricted access to around 4.7 million accounts in the first weeks after the minimum age obligation took effect on December 10. The data marks the first official snapshot of compliance since the legislation came into force, barring children under 16 from holding accounts on major social platforms.

The law applies to 10 services, including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Reddit and requires platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent underage access. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to $49.5 million.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the early results were encouraging and showed platforms were making a meaningful effort to enforce the new rules.

The eSafety data builds on disclosures made last week by Meta, which said it had deactivated around 550,000 Australian accounts linked to under-16 users across Facebook and Instagram. Combined, the figures suggest a far broader industry response than initially anticipated.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the results showed platforms were taking the obligation seriously, while cautioning it was too early to declare full compliance.

“These are preliminary results, but it is clear that regulatory guidance and engagement with platforms is already delivering significant outcomes,” Inman Grant said.

She acknowledged reports that some under-16 accounts remain active but framed enforcement as a long-term effort rather than an immediate clean sweep.

“Just like other safety laws in society, success is measured by reduction in harm and in resetting cultural norms,” she said, likening the policy to speed limits. “They’re not a failure because some people speed.”

Australia’s move is being closely monitored by governments around the world, particularly in Malaysia where authorities are in the final stages of barring teens under 16 from signing up for social media accounts.

Since December, eSafety has shifted from preparation to monitoring and enforcement, focusing on platforms assessed as age-restricted and with high under-16 usage in Australia. The regulator said services such as Bluesky and Lemon8 had self-assessed as falling under the law and were cooperating with authorities.

While downloads of alternative platforms have spiked since the law took effect, eSafety said early analysis suggests this has not yet translated into sustained usage or mass migration by young users.

Age assurance remains one of the law’s most contentious and technically complex elements. Platforms are required to improve accuracy over time and prevent circumvention, but the regulator has accepted that systems will not be perfect at launch.

Inman Grant said early feedback from major age assurance providers had been positive, citing Australia’s public education campaign and phased rollout as contributing factors.

The longer-term impact, she said, would not be measured in weeks or months.

“The true impact of the social media minimum age will likely be generational,” she said, noting eSafety is undertaking an independent, longitudinal evaluation with youth mental health experts to assess behavioural and wellbeing outcomes over time.