Meta Urges Australia to Rethink Under-16 Social Media Ban

Meta has urged the Australian government to reconsider its ban on social media access for users under 16. The company argues that the current legislation is not effective because teenagers are easily bypassing the restrictions. Meta highlighted that young users are moving to alternative platforms like Yope and Lemon8 to stay connected online.

Despite blocking over 500,000 accounts to comply with the ban, Meta believes the measure is insufficient. The company advocates for a broader strategy that includes industry-wide cooperation to address online safety for minors effectively. Focusing only on major platforms leaves gaps that younger users are quick to exploit through other applications.

The implementation of Australia's under-16 social media ban has faced immediate hurdles. Meta reported that despite strict enforcement on its platforms, the legislation has inadvertently pushed young users toward less regulated spaces. These alternative platforms often lack the robust safety measures and age verification systems found on larger, established networks.

According to the company, the primary platforms being used to bypass the ban include:

• Yope
• Lemon8

These applications are gaining popularity among Australian teens seeking to maintain their digital social lives. Meta's data suggests that the ban has not reduced online engagement among minors but rather shifted it to environments where parental oversight and safety tools may be significantly weaker.

In response to the new regulations, Meta has taken significant steps to enforce the ban on its own properties. The company stated that it has successfully blocked over 500,000 accounts that were identified as belonging to users under the age of 16. This massive enforcement action demonstrates the scale of the company's compliance efforts.

However, Meta emphasizes that these actions highlight the limitations of a platform-specific ban. While the company is committed to protecting younger users on its services, the effectiveness of the legislation is undermined when users simply migrate to other apps. This creates a fragmented digital landscape where safety standards vary wildly between platforms.

Meta is using these findings to advocate for a fundamental shift in how Australia approaches online safety for minors. The company argues that a ban targeting specific platforms is a piecemeal solution that fails to address the complexity of the modern digital ecosystem. Instead, they propose a unified, industry-wide effort.

The proposed strategy involves collaboration between technology companies, regulators, and safety experts. The goal is to develop a consistent framework for age verification and content safety that applies across all digital services accessible to young people. Meta believes that this collaborative approach would be far more effective in protecting minors than the current ban, which appears to be easily circumvented.

The debate between Meta and the Australian government highlights a growing global challenge regarding youth online safety. As digital platforms proliferate, enforcing age restrictions becomes increasingly difficult. The situation in Australia serves as a case study for other nations considering similar legislation.

If the current ban remains unchanged, it may drive online activity further underground, making it harder for parents and authorities to monitor and protect young users. Meta's intervention suggests that the tech industry is willing to participate in finding a solution, but insists that effective regulation must be comprehensive and inclusive of the entire digital landscape, not just the most visible players.