According to TechCrunch, Meta has begun notifying Australian teenage Facebook and Instagram users that their accounts will be shut down when the country’s social media ban for teens under 16 takes effect on December 10. Starting December 4, users under 16 will be completely blocked from creating new accounts. When the ban fully activates, existing teen accounts will lose access entirely. However, once these users turn 16, they’ll be able to reactivate their old accounts exactly as they left them. The notification process is already underway as Meta prepares for the December implementation deadline.
The age verification nightmare
Here’s the thing: Meta’s biggest challenge isn’t the ban itself—it’s figuring out who’s actually under 16. Let’s be honest, how many people were completely truthful about their age when signing up for social media? I certainly wasn’t. But digital age verification is notoriously difficult to implement safely. These identity verification systems become high-profile targets for hackers, and even minor security flaws can expose personal information and government documents.
Why identity verification scares security experts
We’ve already seen how badly this can go wrong. Last year, 404 Media found that AU10TIX, which handles identity verification for TikTok, Uber, and X, left administrative credentials exposed online for over a year. That’s not a minor oops—that’s driver’s licenses and personal data sitting there for anyone to grab. So when governments push for more rigorous age checks, they’re essentially creating massive honeypots of sensitive information.
How this actually plays out
Realistically, what’s Meta going to do? Demand government ID from every Australian teenager? That’s a privacy nightmare waiting to happen. Use AI to estimate ages? That’s notoriously unreliable. Basically, they’re stuck between complying with the law and protecting user security. And let’s not forget—teenagers are resourceful. They’ll find workarounds, whether that means using VPNs, creating accounts with different birthdays, or just migrating to platforms that don’t enforce the ban as strictly. This feels like one of those well-intentioned laws that’s going to create more problems than it solves.
