Meta gives U-16s two-week data warning ahead of Australia bans

Meta has started notifying young Australians to download their digital histories and delete their accounts, ahead of the country’s sweeping social media ban for under-16s

The California-based tech giant has become the first social media company to start notifying that it will block Australia-based users under 16 years old from accessing Instagram, Facebook, and Threads by December 10th.

Meta said that it has begun the process of notifying users it believed were between 13 and 15 years old that their accounts will be shut down through in-app messages, email, and texts.

From December 4th, Meta will start deactivating accounts and blocking new sign-ups for anyone under 16 – a process it expects to be complete by December 10th, when the world's first ban on kids using social media takes effect.

Data warning

However, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company said that affected teens can update their contact details to be notified once they turn 16, download their data, or opt to delete their accounts, “so we can get in touch and help them regain access once they turn 16.”

Antigone Davis, vice president and global head of safety verification methods, added in a statement, “While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by 10th December, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multi-layered process.”

Meta said it would use several age assurance methods to comply with the ban, and adopt a “data minimisation approach,” only seeking additional information when it had reason to doubt a user’s stated age.

In practice, Meta, along with other social media firms, is likely to lean on software it already employs to estimate age based on engagement through "likes," for instance, rather than the frequent input and verification of birth dates.

According to Australia’s internet regulator, there are about 150,000 Facebook users aged between 13 and 15 in the territory, and 350,000 Instagram users. No data has been published for Threads.

The teen ban also covers TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, and Australia-founded live streaming platform Kick.

Influencers migrate to the UK

The under-16s ban has already prompted one influencer family with millions of online followers to relocate to the UK.

It was reported last month that the Perth-based Empire Family – a four-member unit made of mums Beck and Bec Lea, 17-year-old son Prezley, and daughter Charlotte, 14, was relocating to London to bypass the ban.

In a post, the family stated that they use the internet "for good" and that the move to the UK will enable their youngest daughter to continue creating content.

In the video detailing the family's decision to move from Perth, Western Australia, to London, Beck says they are not opposed to the social media ban.

"We understand that it is protecting young people from harm on the internet, but we use the internet for good," she said.

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