Snapchat Disables Over 415,000 Australian Accounts Under Social Media Ban
Snapchat has locked or disabled more than 415,000 user accounts in Australia since the country's social media ban for individuals under 16 took effect in December. The platform announced this figure in a blog post on Monday, revealing that the action targeted accounts where users declared an age under 16 or were identified as such through age detection technology.
Compliance with the Under-16s Ban
The social media platform is among ten services mandated to prohibit access for users aged under 16, as part of Australian regulatory efforts. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted the initial success of the ban in January, reporting that 4.7 million accounts across these platforms had been disabled or removed in the early days of implementation.
Snapchat continues to lock additional accounts daily, but has raised concerns about "significant gaps" in the ban's enforcement. The company pointed to "real technical limitations to accurate and dependable age verification," referencing a trial last year that found facial age estimation technology was only accurate within two or three years of a person's actual age.
Challenges and Risks in Age Verification
In practice, these limitations mean some young people under 16 may bypass protections, potentially reducing their safeguards, while others over 16 could incorrectly lose access to services. Snapchat warned that this inconsistency could undermine the ban's effectiveness.
Additionally, the platform noted that other communication apps have escaped the ban, leading teens to turn to alternative, less regulated messaging services. "While we don't yet have data to quantify this shift, it's a risk that deserves serious consideration as policymakers evaluate whether the law is achieving its intended outcomes," Snapchat stated.
Regulatory Focus and Industry Response
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has indicated that regulatory efforts are concentrated on the ten initial platforms, where the majority of young users are found. "We're a small team, by necessity we are going to focus where the preponderance of young people are - where there are more than 250,000 for instance, is one measure," she told reporters last month.
Inman Grant emphasised that the rollout is a work in progress, with eSafety planning to send notices to companies regarding their compliance. She also highlighted issues with age assurance technology, noting that Snapchat had been using facial age estimation without a "liveness test" to verify real images.
Snapchat, along with Meta, has advocated for app-store-level age verification to address these challenges more effectively. The total of 4.7 million account deactivations across the ten platforms includes not only those identified as under 16 but also historical, inactive, and duplicate accounts that have been removed.
Ongoing Developments and Transparency
Aside from Meta and Snapchat, other platforms have not disclosed their deactivation numbers, and the eSafety commissioner has declined to provide a detailed breakdown. This lack of transparency adds to the complexities of assessing the ban's full impact and effectiveness.
As the situation evolves, stakeholders continue to monitor the implementation, with calls for improved technology and broader regulatory measures to ensure the safety of young users online.
