Australia's Social Media Minimum Age: Meta Reports Deletion of 750,000 Underage Accounts

How Meta Aims to Identify Minors

On most major platforms, including Meta's services, image-based age estimation is also used, according to the company. However, Meta said users are typically first classified based on their online behaviour before image analysis takes place. The procedures are part of a multi-tiered age verification system that, according to Meta, is continuously being adjusted.

Australia's regulator eSafety is monitoring implementation of the minimum age and has already imposed fines on platforms that violate the requirements. Other countries, including Austria, have recently discussed or announced similar age limits.

Criticism of Misclassifications

The minimum age law came into force after years of political debate. Advocates argue it protects young users from addictive mechanisms and problematic content. Critics, however, fear a restriction of young people's digital participation and see technical ways to circumvent age controls.

Meta pointed out that the deletions did not necessarily mean all affected accounts were actually run by users under 16. The procedures could also affect accounts that were wrongly classified as underage. Users could lodge an objection and prove their identity and age, it said.

The group announced it would further refine its detection systems and work with regulators and data protection authorities. Meta did not disclose what specific error rates the AI procedures show. Industry observers consider the effectiveness of pure behavioural analysis without document-based age verification to be limited.

International Comparison with Austria and the EU

Overall, the case shows how platforms handle legal blocks technically: through automated profile evaluation, image estimation and reporting channels. The Australian regulation is considered one of the world's first large-scale attempts to enforce a mandatory minimum age through legislation and platform compliance.

Data protection advocates and children's rights organisations are generally cautious in their assessment of deletion thresholds. They see risks in misclassifications and call for transparent, court-proof procedures. At the same time, pressure is mounting on other platform operators to introduce comparable controls or expand existing systems.

The European regulation is increasingly coming into focus in the debate over the Australian model. The EU is working on uniform age verification standards that are being compared with the Australian approach. Meta said it was monitoring international developments and adjusting internal policies accordingly.

According to Meta, users whose accounts were deleted have the option to appeal and prove they are of legal age through identity documents. If no objection is lodged, the accounts remain permanently blocked.