Meta begins notifying teens they will be blocked from apps under social media ban
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The news: Meta has begun notifying Australian under 16-year-old account holders that they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook as Australia’s social media age restrictions come into force.
The context: The company said on Thursday that it will begin to purge existing accounts and block new under-16 users from 4 December, and expects to complete the process by 10 December, when new Australian legislation kicks in preventing teens aged 13-15 from having accounts.
Meta also cautioned that there remained a “significant” margin of error when determining whether a user is 16 years or older, and expects to misidentify an unspecified number of underage users. Over-16s mistakenly flagged will be able to verify their age using video selfie or government ID, via trusted partner Yoti.
The tech giant encouraged young users to download and save their social media data and update contact details so that Meta can contact them when they turn 16.
Users under 16 will receive 14 days’ notice of their pending account deactivation through a combination of in-app messages, email and SMS before their access is cut off.
The sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian, InnovationAus.com, ABC
