Canberra: Following Australia’s groundbreaking ban on social media use for children under 16, platforms have reportedly closed 4.7 million accounts belonging to minors across the country.
The action comes just one month after the law came into effect on 10 December 2025, reflecting the swift and wide-ranging impact of the regulation.
According to Al Arabiya Urdu, Australia’s eSafety agency confirmed that social media companies have removed nearly 4.7 million accounts to comply with the new law.
Reuters reported that some platforms began deleting accounts weeks before the official enforcement date, in anticipation of the restrictions.
These figures represent the first official data on compliance, indicating that companies are taking serious measures to adhere to the law.
Violations of the law could result in fines of up to AUD 49.5 million (USD 33 million) for companies, though children and their parents are not held responsible.
The total number of removed accounts has exceeded earlier estimates based on population data. Previously, Meta disclosed that it had removed approximately 550,000 accounts of minors from Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.