Meta Warns Australian Teens to Download Data Before December Social Media Age Ban Takes Effect

Meta has begun sending notifications to thousands of young Australians, advising them to download their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram, and Threads before a groundbreaking social media ban takes effect.

Melbourne authorities confirmed that approximately 350,000 Australian teenagers aged 13 to 15 currently use Instagram, while 150,000 in the same age bracket have Facebook accounts.

The Australian government recently announced that major platforms including Meta's services, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube must implement reasonable measures to exclude Australian users under 16 years old by December 10.

Meta became the first tech company to outline its compliance strategy on Thursday. The California-based corporation has started contacting affected young account holders through SMS and email, warning that suspected underage users will begin losing access from December 4.

"We will start notifying impacted teens today to give them the opportunity to save their contacts and memories," Meta stated in an official announcement.

The company added that young users could use this notice period to update their contact information "so we can get in touch and help them regain access once they turn 16."

For users aged 16 and older who may be incorrectly identified as underage, Meta has established a verification process through Yoti Age Verification. These users can prove their age by providing government-issued identification documents or submitting a "video selfie."

Terry Flew, co-director of Sydney University's Center for AI, Trust and Governance, noted that facial-recognition technology typically has at least a 5% failure rate. "In the absence of a government-mandated ID system, we're always looking at second-best solutions around these things," Flew explained to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The Australian government has cautioned platforms against implementing overly burdensome verification requirements for all users, noting that many platforms already possess sufficient data to identify children without extensive new measures.

Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude underage users could face penalties of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($32 million).

Antigone Davis, Meta's vice president and global head of safety, expressed a preference for age verification to occur at the app store level. "We believe a better approach is required: a standard, more accurate, and privacy-preserving system, such as OS/app store-level age verification," Davis stated.

"This combined with our investments in ongoing efforts to assure age... offers a more comprehensive protection for young people online," she added.

Dany Elachi, founder of parents' advocacy group Heaps Up Alliance, which lobbied for the social media age restrictions, advised parents to help their children plan alternative activities to replace time currently spent on social media platforms.

Elachi criticized the government's timing in announcing the complete list of affected platforms only on November 5. "There are aspects of the legislation that we're not entirely supportive of, but the principle that children under the age of 16 are better off in the real world, that's something we advocated for and are in favor of," he said.

"When everybody misses out, nobody misses out. That's the theory. Certainly we expect that it would play out that way. We hope parents are going to be very positive about this and try to help their children see all the potential possibilities that are now open to them," Elachi concluded.