AI-powered detection led to the removal of hundreds of thousands of teen accounts. Meta is acting under Australia’s new social media age restrictions. Enforcement is ongoing, with more accounts expected to be flagged.
Media and publishing professionals tracking platform compliance should note that Meta has removed over 750,000 accounts belonging to users under 16 across Facebook and Instagram in Australia. This large-scale enforcement follows the country’s new social media ban targeting underage users, with Meta leveraging artificial intelligence to identify and remove accounts that violate the age policy.
Since January, Meta reported the removal of approximately 250,000 additional teen accounts in the region, building on the initial 500,000 accounts previously taken down. The company stated that enforcement is ongoing and that these figures are expected to rise as detection efforts continue. Meta regularly reports its enforcement data to the eSafety Commissioner and has committed to periodic public updates to maintain transparency.
Meta’s detection process in Australia combines AI analysis of user-generated content-such as posts, comments, bios, and captions-to identify contextual clues like birthday celebrations or references to school grades. The company also encourages parents and community members to report suspected underage accounts directly through Facebook, Instagram, or Meta’s Help Center. AI systems then review these reports and monitor for attempts to create new accounts after previous removals.
Australia’s legislation requires social media platforms to demonstrate that they have taken “reasonable steps” to prevent users under 16 from accessing their services, but prohibits requiring government-issued IDs for age verification. The law has influenced similar measures in countries including Greece, Indonesia, Austria, Denmark, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, France, several U.S. states, and Turkey.
Recent data from Pew Research Center indicates that 56% of U.S. adults now support banning social media access for those under 16, while only 20% oppose such measures and about a quarter remain undecided. However, the effectiveness of these bans remains in question. Australia’s eSafety Commission recently found that 81.5% of underage users in the country still access restricted platforms despite ongoing enforcement.
Meta continues to face legal and regulatory challenges related to youth engagement. The company is currently defending against multiple teen-addiction lawsuits and was recently fined $567 million after a New Mexico judge found that Facebook and Instagram were designed to maximize the time underage users spend on the platforms. For further insight into how organizations struggle to demonstrate impact to key audiences, see this analysis on communicating results to stakeholders.
Meta Platforms, Inc., founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, operates some of the world’s largest social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. As of 2026, Meta reports over 3 billion monthly active users across its services. The company employs more than 70,000 people globally and continues to invest in AI-driven moderation and compliance technologies to address regulatory requirements in multiple markets.
