Australia has deactivated or restricted more than 4.7 million social media accounts held by users judged to be under 16 years of age. This action followed a ban that started on December 10, covering major platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others. The eSafety commissioner collected data from these platforms on how many accounts were removed to comply with the new law. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, said it had removed almost 550,000 accounts. The government declined to share detailed numbers per platform. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "It’s encouraging that social media companies are making meaningful effort to comply with laws and keep kids off their platforms." He added, "Change doesn’t happen overnight. But these early signs show it’s important we’ve acted to make this change." Communications Minister Anika Wells said eSafety will examine the data closely. She noted, "We weren’t expecting perfection straight away – but early figures are showing this law is making a real, meaningful difference." However, the federal opposition criticized the ban’s implementation. Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh said, "Many under-16 accounts have not been deactivated, while others that were initially removed have since become active again." She also stated that age-verification tools were "laughably easy to bypass" and pointed out children moved to platforms like Yope and Lemon8, which are not banned. The government plans to contact other platforms to ensure broader compliance. Meanwhile, some platforms like Bluesky have introduced age checks even though they were not included in the original ban list. While Australia leads with this strict approach, a UK study found no direct link between heavy social media use and increased anxiety or depression among 11 to 14-year-olds.