Australian officials say millions of children have been removed from social media platforms in the first month following the implementation of a nationwide ban targeting users under the age of 16, marking an early milestone for what leaders are calling a world-leading law, as reported by Fox News.

According to Australian government figures released Friday, social media companies have revoked access for approximately 4.7 million accounts believed to belong to children since the ban took effect in mid-December.

The law requires major platforms to identify and deactivate accounts operated by users younger than 16, amid longstanding concerns about the effects of social media on children and teenagers.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted the results during a news conference, describing the early enforcement numbers as proof the policy is working.

“Today, we can announce that this is working,” Albanese said. “This is a source of Australian pride. This was world-leading legislation, but it is now being followed up around the world.”

Under the new law, 10 major social media companies — Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, Reddit, Threads, Twitch, and YouTube — are required to take what the government describes as “reasonable steps” to remove underage users in Australia. Companies that fail to comply face potential fines of up to $33 million.

Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government overcame fierce opposition from powerful technology companies to enact the restrictions.

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“We stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters,” Wells said.

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

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said there are roughly 2.5 million Australians between the ages of 8 and 15, with an estimated 84% of children aged 8 to 12 having at least one social media account prior to the ban.

While officials do not have an exact count of total accounts across all platforms, Inman Grant said the number of deactivations and restrictions was encouraging.

“We’re preventing predatory social media companies from accessing our children,” she said.

Critics of the ban have argued that enforcing age restrictions across global platforms will be difficult. Inman Grant acknowledged that not every violation has been eliminated.

“We don't expect safety laws to eliminate every single breach,” she said. “If we did, speed limits would have failed because people speed, drinking limits would have failed because, believe it or not, some kids do get access to alcohol.”

She added that while her office observed an increase in downloads of alternative apps following the ban, there was not a corresponding spike in overall usage.

Platforms are permitted to verify users’ ages through several methods, including requesting identification documents, using third-party age-estimation technology based on facial analysis, or analyzing existing account data such as how long an account has been active.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, previously said it removed nearly 550,000 accounts it believed belonged to users under 16 just one day after the law took effect.

The ban has drawn strong support from parents and child safety advocates, while privacy groups and organizations representing teenagers have voiced opposition.

Other countries are now weighing similar measures, and lawmakers in the United States have also signaled interest.

“I think we ought to look at what Australia’s doing, for example, requiring access to these social media platforms to not be available to anybody under the age of 16,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said last month.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois has also expressed openness to restrictions.

“Protecting children is an avenue that should be pursued,” Durbin said. “I won’t rule out some sort of limitation in sales or distribution or use of those devices… Parents and grandparents need a helping hand; this is getting out of hand.”

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