Meta starts blocking teens in Australia under social media ban

Australia’s world-first ban requires 10 major online platforms to block users aged 16.Published On 4 Dec 2025Tech giant Meta has begun removing minors below 16 years of age in Australia from its platforms Instagram, Threads and Facebook ahead of the country’s world-first youth social media ban.“While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by 10 December, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multilayered process,” a Meta spokesperson said on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Malaysia says it will ban social media for under-16s from next yearlist 2 of 3Australia moves to stamp out ‘nudify’ and stalking appslist 3 of 3Meta sets date to remove Australians under 16 from Instagram, Facebookend of listAustralia requires 10 major online platforms, also including TikTok and YouTube, to block underage users by December 10, when the new law comes into force.Companies face fines of 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32m) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are likely to be affected by the ban, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.Some popular apps and websites, such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp, are exempt, but the list remains under review.Livestreaming service Twitch was added to the list less than two weeks ago.Meta said it was committed to complying with Australian law, but it called for app stores to be held accountable for age verification instead.“The government should require app stores to verify age and obtain parental approval whenever teens under 16 download apps, eliminating the need for teens to verify their age multiple times across different apps,” the Meta spokesperson said.“Social media platforms could then use this verified age information to ensure teens are in age-appropriate experiences.”