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Meta removes 756,000 likely under-16 accounts in Australia
Meta says the takedowns totaled 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts since Australia’s teen social media ban took effect on December 10.
Meta Platforms says it has removed 756,000 accounts it believes belonged to Australians under 16 since the country’s nationwide ban on teen social media use began on December 10, disclosed on August 13.
Meta split the figure into 462,000 suspect Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts removed between December and June, and said the pace is higher than the 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts it reported removing by January.
The latest counts come as Australia’s internet regulator weighs an enforcement lawsuit against platforms it says have not complied enough with the ban. Meta’s ability to sustain compliance efforts is tied, the company argues, to the scale of its advertising business.
Meta reported $114 billion in advertising revenue in the first half of 2026, making up 97.7% of total sales, and it is positioning AI upgrades and automated Advantage+ tools as drivers of ad efficiency. On the compliance side, Meta said it uses AI to look for contextual clues such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades, and that it closed a loophole that let banned users reopen new accounts, adding that enforcement is ongoing and the numbers will continue to grow.