Meta urges young Australians to download data before ban

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Meta has started notifying thousands of young Australians that their Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts will soon be blocked under Australia’s new age restriction laws.

The federal government announced earlier this month that major platforms — including Meta apps, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube — must take “reasonable steps” to block users under 16 from December 10.

Meta is the first company to outline how it will comply. From Thursday, the tech giant began sending SMS and email alerts to suspected underage users, warning that access will be cut from December 4.

The company says teens should use the two-week notice period to download their photos and contacts, or update their details so they can regain access once they turn 16.

Meta estimates around 350,000 Australians aged 13–15 use Instagram, and 150,000 in the same age group use Facebook.

Teens who are actually 16 or older but received the warning by mistake will be able to verify their age using Yoti Age Verification, which accepts government ID or a “video selfie.”

However, experts warn the technology isn’t perfect. Sydney University’s Terry Flew says facial-recognition tools still have a failure rate of around 5%.

The government has made it clear that demanding ID from every user would be unreasonable, arguing platforms already have enough data to identify most underage accounts.

Platforms that fail to take proper action could face fines of up to $50 million.

Meta’s global safety chief, Antigone Davis, said a better system would be for app stores like Apple and Google to verify a user’s age when they download apps, reducing the need for platforms to collect extra data.

Parent advocacy groups say families should now start preparing their children for life with less screen time.

Dany Elachi from the Heaps Up Alliance — which pushed for the age limit — said the change will be tough but ultimately beneficial.

“When everybody misses out, nobody misses out,” he said. “Kids will have new opportunities once they’re spending less time online.”

Source : DailyMirror

More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.