From December 4, 2025 , Australian children and teenagers under the age of 16 will be banned from accessing Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads .

This major decision follows the adoption of strict new legislation in Australia, which will officially come into force on December 10, 2025 .

This law prohibits minors under 16 from accessing social media, under penalty of heavy fines for offending platforms. Meta has therefore chosen to anticipate the implementation of this regulation.

The accounts have been suspended, but not deleted.

The young users concerned (mainly those aged 13 to 15 ) began receiving notifications on November 20, informing them of the imminent suspension of their accounts.

1. Temporary suspension: Meta clarified that the accounts will not be permanently deleted. Users will be able to recover them "exactly as they left them" once they turn 16.
2. Strengthening verification tools: The American firm indicated that it would strengthen its systems, notably through age estimation technologies, to identify and block underage users and prevent any circumvention of the rule.

A dilemma for Meta

Although the Meta group claims to share the government's objective of creating a safer digital environment for children, it expresses concern about this measure.

The company believes that cutting teenagers off from their online communities could have "negative social effects" , isolating them, and complicating their access to mutual aid and awareness resources that are often available on Instagram and Facebook.

A possible global precedent

The Australian approach, which requires the automatic deletion of accounts belonging to minors under the age of 16 and a ban on any new registrations, places the country among the strictest in the world in terms of digital child protection.

This regulation could well become an international precedent. Several European countries , including France, the United Kingdom and Germany, are already considering introducing similar measures, notably a strict minimum age or mandatory identity verification for access to social networks.