More than 4.7 million Australia social media accounts belonging judged under 16 years old were deactivated, removed, or restricted in the first days after the ban took effect on 10 December.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released data from eSafety commissioner queries to 10 covered platforms: Twitch, Kick, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, X, TikTok, and Reddit.
The government cited commercial confidentiality for not breaking down platform-specific figures. Meta reported deactivating nearly 550,000 accounts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Preliminary eSafety analysis shows platforms actively preventing underage accounts.
Government hails early success
Albanese called the response encouraging, noting social media companies demonstrate meaningful compliance efforts to keep children off platforms.
Communications Minister Anika Wells stated eSafety will scrutinise data for individual platform adherence. Early figures prove the law delivers real, meaningful difference despite no expectation of instant perfection.
Opposition criticises gaps
The federal opposition, which originally championed the policy, claimed implementation fell flat last week. Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh highlighted persistent under-16 accounts, reactivated removals, new account creation, and easily bypassed age-verification using makeup and lighting. Teens reportedly migrated to unregulated platforms like Yope and Lemon8.
The ban requires platforms to self-assess applicability; government plans to pursue compliance from emerging teen havens. Platforms like Bluesky implemented age-assurance voluntarily despite exclusion from initial list.
Global context questions impact
While the UK and others consider following Australia, a new UK study tracking 11-14-year-olds found no evidence linking heavier social media use or gaming frequency to increased teen anxiety or depression symptoms. Social media from year 8-9 and 9-10 showed no detrimental mental health effects the following year.
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