Social media users across Australia under the age of 16 have begun receiving notifications that their accounts are being deactivated. This move comes ahead of a stringent new government ban set to take effect at midnight on Wednesday.
The new regulations mandate that the ten largest social media platforms operating in the country must block access for Australian citizens under 16 years old. Companies failing to comply face severe penalties, including fines of up to US$33 million (approximately 551 billion Indonesian Rupiah).
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, initiated a phased deactivation of affected accounts starting December 4th. The list of platforms subject to the ban includes major names like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Notably, all of these companies have stated their intention to comply with the rules, primarily by employing age inference technology to identify underage users.
The Australian government's law represents one of the world's most aggressive attempts to legislate age restrictions on social media access, aiming to protect younger citizens from potential online harms. The enforcement shift places the legal onus on the platforms themselves to verify users' ages and restrict access, moving beyond previous models that relied on self-reporting. The industry's widespread adoption of age-estimation tools is now being put to a major practical test on a national scale.