- Meta has been busy deleting under 16 accounts in Australia
- Over 500,000 accounts are gone from Facebook, Instagram and Threads
- Meta still wants more done to improve age verification
The fallout from the Australian government’s decision to ban under-16s from social media continues: Meta has issued an update on the action it’s taken to comply with the new rules, while reiterating its belief that there are better ways to protect teenagers.
By December 11, a day after the ban took effect, Meta says it had removed access to 544,052 accounts believed to belong to under-16s in Australia. This issue covers the Instagram, Facebook and Threads platforms, all of which are owned by Meta.
The young users affected were given 14 days’ notice to download their information and – presumably – let their contacts know where they could be found in the future (Facebook Messenger is actually exempt from the ban, for example).
Australian authorities imposed the ban out of child safety concerns, citing concerns over screen time, inappropriate contact from adults and exposure to harmful content – including material depicting violence, bullying and mental health issues.
‘A better way forward’
Meta is also using the opportunity of the update to express his “concerns” about this new ban. “Some of the initial impacts we have seen as a result of the Act suggest that it is not meeting its objectives of increasing the safety and wellbeing of young Australians,” the Meta team writes.
“We still believe there is a better way forward, which is age verification and parental approval at the app store level,” it added.
It would require the likes of Google and Apple to verify users’ ages. Meta is also pushing a new non-profit called the OpenAge Initiative, which aims to standardize age verification processes — and prevent teenagers from switching to less well-regulated apps that might not be as diligent when it comes to checking how old its users are.
Meta says it will continue to “engage constructively” with the Australian government to “find a better way forward”. It doesn’t seem to oppose age verification per se, but wants it to be more tightly regulated and consistent across platforms.
The whole business model of social media apps is to get as many people as possible to spend as much time as possible inside the apps, of course. Still, these companies are feeling the pressure to take more responsibility: In the past few years, Meta has added more features for younger users designed to keep them safe online.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
