Australia’s under-16 social media ban leads to 4.7 million accounts being revoked

Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
7h ago
Social media companies revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia under a law banning social media use for users under 16, officials said.
Australia’s under-16 social media ban leads to 4.7 million accounts being revoked
A What happened
Officials said social media companies revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia since a ban for users under 16 took effect. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government had proven the ban could be enforced and said parents could be confident their children could “have their childhoods back.” The figures were reported by 10 platforms and were the first to show the scale of the ban since it was enacted in December. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the 10 biggest companies covered by the ban were compliant and reported removal figures on time.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Regulator focus expected to shift from removals to prevention: Julie Inman Grant said social media companies were expected to shift efforts from enforcing the ban to preventing children from creating new accounts or circumventing the prohibition.

  • 2

    Other countries have considered similar bans: Denmark’s government said in November it planned to implement a social media ban for children under 15, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the approach was being replicated around the world.

  • 3

    AI companion and chatbot restrictions planned: Julie Inman Grant said the regulator planned to introduce “world-leading AI companion and chatbot restrictions” in March.

Takeaways

Australia’s regulator reported large-scale account removals under the under-16 social media ban and said enforcement efforts were expected to move toward preventing new child accounts and circumvention.

Topics

Technology & Innovation Artificial Intelligence Social Media Health & Medicine Mental Health World & Politics Policy & Regulation Law & Public Safety Public Safety

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