Name: Meta deactivating Australian teens ahead of social media ban
Uploaded: 2025-12-07T23:05:35.910Z
Duration: 2 min 10 s
Description: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has begun deactivating social media users under age 16 in Australia ahead of a first-of-its-kind ban. Some advocates are calling for similar protections to be enacted elsewhere around the world.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has begun deactivating social media users under age 16 in Australia ahead of a first-of-its-kind ban. Some advocates are calling for similar protections to be enacted elsewhere around the world.

Menlo Park

Meta has started deactivating the accounts of Australians under 16 on Instagram and Facebook in anticipation of Australia's new social media ban targeting teens. The legislation, which is the first of its kind globally, requires platforms to verify users' ages and imposes multi-million dollar fines for non-compliance.

The ban has sparked debate among parents, teens, and experts, with some supporting stricter controls and others warning of unintended consequences. While Canadian advocates are urging similar action, previous attempts to regulate social media in Canada have stalled, and the government is considering new measures to address online harms.

Meta deactivating Australian teens ahead of social media ban

It's been an emotional few days for many Australian teens as META started shutting down half a million Instagram and Facebook accounts for people under 16. For me it was my community and my lifeline. Australia is bringing in the world's first teen social media ban with companies facing multi-million dollar fines if they don't take reasonable steps to comply. Australia's initial list of platforms includes 10 well-known sites. Each will decide how it confirms ages with options like video verification or submitting government-issued ID. This tech analyst says Australia is a litmus test for the rest of the world. If Australia can pull it off, you can bet that Canada is going to be pushing a similar agenda here at some point in the new year. So do you know when Australia is implementing the... Jenny Perez would like Canada to heed Australia's example. Perez is a founder of Unplugged Canada advocating for limits to children's access to social media. Australia leading this international movement is giving hope to everybody. Many parents felt defeated. They felt that it was too late to change the norm. But others argue that an outright ban might make social media more enticing. I think we're at risk of creating a bit of a forbidden fruit aspect to social media. Even among teens, there's no consensus. Like, they're on screens a lot, like younger kids, and I feel like it's not really good for them. I use social media a lot for, like, sports. A lot of coaches can, like, find you and scout you through Instagram and stuff. The Trudeau government tried to put some guardrails on social media companies with a controversial online harms bill, but it never passed after concerns over free speech. A spokesperson for the federal justice minister says they hope to bring an updated bill before the end of the year, with measures to combat extortion, deep fakes and sexual exploitation, but they did not say how it would address social media. Deanna Sumanac-Johnson, CBC News, Toronto.

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