{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1917185,
        "msgid": "meta-blocks-over-750-000-accounts-in-australia-under-social-media-age-restrictions-1786614778",
        "date": "2026-08-13 16:15:00",
        "title": "Meta Blocks Over 750,000 Accounts in Australia Under Social Media Age Restrictions",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Technology",
        "summary": "Meta has blocked more than 750,000 accounts in Australia as part of compliance with strict new laws barring children under 16 from social media. The move follows similar regulations introduced in Indonesia, though Australia is recognised as the first country to enforce such a ban. The crackdown comes amid government threats of massive fines and accusations that tech platforms are deliberately undermining the restrictions.",
        "content": "<p>Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has\nblocked more than 750,000 accounts suspected of belonging to Australian\nusers under the age of 16, according to Reuters on Thursday\n(13\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n<p>The move is a form of compliance with rules that have been in force\nin the country since December 2025 regarding restrictions on social\nmedia access for children under 16.<\/p>\n<p>These rules have also been established by the Indonesian government\nthrough PP Tunas, which was introduced in March 2025 and took effect\nthrough Permenkomdigi Number 9 of 2026 in March 2026. Nevertheless,\nAustralia is recognised as the first country in the world to pioneer\nsuch regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Meta recorded that it had deactivated 462,000 Instagram accounts and\n294,000 \u2018suspicious\u2019 underage Facebook accounts in Australia during the\nperiod leading up to the implementation of the rules last December\nthrough June. This figure rose significantly compared to January, when\nMeta had removed 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook\naccounts.<\/p>\n<p>The global social media giant took this firm action to comply with\napplicable regulations, amid the threat of lawsuits from Australia\u2019s\ninternet regulator against a number of platforms deemed deliberately\nnegligent and non-compliant.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Meta\u2019s aggressive \u2018clean-up\u2019 efforts, reports from the\nAustralian government and various independent studies have uncovered a\nstartling fact. More than 80% of children under the age of 16 are still\nactively browsing social media in the first three months since the law\nwas enacted.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian government issued the strict rules on 10 December due\nto mounting concerns over the negative impact of social media on\nchildren\u2019s mental and physical health.<\/p>\n<p>Australia\u2019s government has accused technology giants of deliberately\ndesigning lax systems so that the rules would fail. In response, the\ngovernment is preparing a new bill to double the maximum fine for\nnon-compliance to A$99 million (Rp1.2 trillion).<\/p>\n<p>To tighten screening, Meta is using artificial intelligence (AI)\ntechnology to scan for indications of user age based on their online\nactivity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe use AI to analyse contextual clues on user profiles that point to\nan age under 16, such as birthday celebration posts or mentions of\nschool grade level,\u201d Meta management said in a statement on Thursday\n(13\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n<p>Meta also confirmed that it has closed loopholes for users who\nattempt to create new accounts repeatedly after their previous accounts\nwere removed.<\/p>\n<p>As scheduled, representatives from Meta, TikTok, Google (YouTube),\nand Snap (Snapchat) will be summoned to provide testimony in an\nAustralian parliamentary inquiry into the effectiveness of enforcement\nof these rules.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/meta-blocks-over-750-000-accounts-in-australia-under-social-media-age-restrictions-1786614778",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}