This week, Australia was all over the news! Within only 48 hours of these landmark laws going into effect, on December 10, the country deactivated more than 4.7 million social media accounts. The ban only applies to the largest platforms — including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook. The impetus behind this historic move is to protect children under the age of 16 from the danger they face online.
This first-in-the-world legislative action has attracted global attention, with the United Kingdom considering such legislation. Labour’s leader Prime Minister Keir Starmer readily agrees to take his inspiration from the Australians. This is a sign of a growing global commitment to protect youth in the online space.
Significant Account Deactivation Statistics
The deactivation figures are striking. Yet in the 48 hours after the ban took effect, platforms immediately reported billions of users. That’s a significant enforcement action in that time period—between December 4 and December 11, Meta removed approximately 330,000 users from Instagram! They removed 173,000 from Facebook and 39,000 from Threads.
Communications Minister Anika Wells called these numbers a “massive success,” reiterating the importance of these initial results. She noted that it’s still early in the process. Every account they deactivate allows one more young person to have more time to focus on the world immediately around them, including fulfilling meaningful real-life commitments.
“While it’s early, every account deactivated could mean one extra young person with more free time to build their community and identity offline.” – Anika Wells
Wells reiterated that the eSafety Commission is focused on tracking emerging trends in data. They’re assessing the extent to which each platform is abiding by the checklist requirements.
The Purpose and Requirements of the Ban
The intended effect of this ban is to limit children under 16 years old’s ability to access social media platforms. This means every platform would need to have at least one alternative age verification method available, other than submitting a government-issued ID. This requirement is a step towards wider measures aimed at keeping social media spaces safer for younger users.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has suggested the data they’ve collected so far is “promising.” He acknowledged the incredible progress that’s already been achieved. He was quick to add that there is “a lot more work to do” to ensure compliance from every platform. The administration has to be closely attuned to the continuing imperative to enforce these laws diligently.
“We’ve said from the beginning that we weren’t expecting perfection straight away — but early figures are showing this law is making a real, meaningful difference.” – Anika Wells
The Australian government is serious about holding platforms accountable, and requiring them to take all possible steps required to effectively age-restrict content. This regulation is part of a larger initiative aimed at safeguarding children’s mental health and well-being in the digital age.
Global Reactions and Future Implications
The rapid and far-reaching effects of Australia’s new legislation have spurred interest from other countries facing the same challenges. Now, other countries around the world are looking to do the same as Australia and regulate social media use for young people.
This possible change represents a wider recognition of the roles that tech companies have to play in safeguarding our most vulnerable users. What Australia does next may well trigger a domino effect of new legislation around the globe, as countries place greater emphasis on child safety in the online space.
