Buenos Aires, January 16 (NA) — Tech giants blocked 4.7 million profiles in compliance with the ban on social media for users under 16 in Australia, the country's online safety regulator reported this Friday.
Australia forces major platforms like Meta, TikTok, or YouTube to prevent children and teens from having accounts on their sites as part of a world-leading law that took effect on December 10. Initial figures show that social networks have taken significant steps to restrict users under 16, considered Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
“It is clear that the online safety regulatory guidance and its collaboration with the platforms are already yielding significant results,” she said in a statement, cited by the DW portal, as learned by the Noticias Argentinas agency.
Under this new legislation, companies face fines equivalent to 33 million dollars if they do not take “reasonable measures” to comply with it. Meta, owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, said last week it had removed 331,000 minor accounts on Instagram, 173,000 on Facebook, and 40,000 on Threads in the days leading up to December 11.
However, the company reiterated its request that app stores verify users' ages and obtain parental authorization before minors can download one of their platforms.
“This is the only way to prevent teens from migrating to new apps to circumvent the ban,” added Meta.
The Australian eSafety Commission clarified that accurately verifying age takes time but expects platforms to improve their performance.
“It is also the industry's responsibility to prevent circumvention, as described in the eSafety industry guidelines,” the regulator stated.
Meanwhile, downloads of lesser-known platforms like BlueSky and Lemon8 skyrocketed ahead of the ban's implementation for teens. However, both social networks acknowledged they are subject to the legislation and are cooperating with the Australian regulator, Inman Grant stated.
“Given the vast number of online services and the rapid evolution of the tech industry, it is impossible to list all services that meet the criteria and are obligated to comply with the minimum age requirement on social media,” it is explained in the statement.
