Australia Bans Social Media for Kids, Removes 4.7 Million Underage Accounts

Australia just did what the rest of the world said was impossible and in the process, dealt a massive blow to Big Tech’s grip on children.

Just one month after enforcing a nationwide law banning kids under 16 from social media, Australia announced that 4.7 million underage accounts have been removed from platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. The law, passed in December, forces ten major tech giants including Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, and Twitch to verify users’ ages and deactivate any accounts belonging to users under 16.

And it’s working. “This is a source of Australian pride,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “We stared down some of the most powerful companies in the world.”

This is the kind of leadership most Western nations have lacked. While American lawmakers dither and Silicon Valley lobbyists buy time, Australia took decisive action and sent a global message Big Tech doesn’t own our children.

The Law’s Impact, By the Numbers:

• 4.7 million accounts removed or restricted in one month.

• Meta alone (Instagram, Facebook, Threads) deleted 550,000 underage accounts in just 24 hours.

• Australia estimates 84% of kids ages 8–12 had at least one social media account before the ban.

• Noncompliant companies face fines of up to $33 million for failing to take “reasonable steps” to block underage access.

Communications Minister Anika Wells celebrated the law as a win for parents and a defeat for Big Tech's influence.

“Now Australian parents can be confident that their kids can have their childhoods back.”

But don’t expect tech platforms to give up without a fight. Privacy activists and online freedom groups many of whom are funded by the same companies profiting from kids’ attention are already crying foul. They claim age verification is invasive and hard to enforce.

But as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant put it:

“We don’t expect safety laws to eliminate every single breach. If that were the standard, speed limits and drinking laws would’ve failed.”

And she’s right. Perfect enforcement isn’t the goal accountability is.

The new law allows platforms to verify age through various methods: requesting ID, analyzing facial recognition, or estimating based on account behavior. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a massive leap forward compared to the “honor system” that’s currently in place one that’s allowed tech giants to quietly harvest data from millions of children in violation of their own policies.

Even U.S. lawmakers are taking notice:

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called for America to consider a similar age threshold, saying, “We ought to look at what Australia’s doing.”

• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) echoed the concern: “Parents and grandparents need a helping hand; this is getting out of hand.”

No kidding. Over the last decade, social media platforms have fueled skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among teens and pre-teens. A CDC study found that 57% of teen girls reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” the highest rate ever recorded.

And still, Big Tech keeps pushing “engagement” over ethics.

Australia’s ban might be just the beginning. Other nations are now drafting similar measures, and parents around the world are demanding answers. Why should billion-dollar corporations be allowed to exploit kids for profit while governments sit on their hands?

It’s time to stop pretending that 12-year-olds need TikTok. What they need is protection and Australia just set the standard.

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