Save Our Pak
Canberra (January 16, 2026): After Australia introduced a ban on social media use for children under the age of 16, social media companies have shut down around 4.7 million accounts belonging to young users across the country.
This action was taken just one month after the world’s first law of this kind came into effect, showing how quickly and widely the policy has impacted online platforms.
According to Al Arabiya Urdu, Australia’s online e-safety authority confirmed that social media platforms removed nearly 4.7 million accounts owned by users under 16. These removals were carried out in compliance with the new law, which officially came into force on December 10, 2025.
Reuters reported that some platforms had already started deleting affected accounts several weeks before the official enforcement date, as they prepared to meet the new legal requirements.
These figures represent the first official government data on compliance with the law. The data suggests that social media companies are taking serious steps to follow the regulation. Under the law, companies that fail to comply may face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (around 33 million US dollars). However, the law does not hold children or their parents responsible.
It is important to note that this number is higher than earlier estimates that were based on population data before the law was introduced. Previously, Meta revealed that it had removed around 550,000 underage accounts from Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.
Reported by Save Our Pak
