Meta Warns Social Media Ban in Australia Will Push Teens to the Internet's "Dark Corners"

Jakarta - Meta has warned the Australian government that banning children under the age of 16 from using social media could potentially push teenagers to more risky and unregulated digital platforms. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads believes that a blanket ban policy does not stop teenagers' online activities, but rather moves them to the "dark corners" of the internet.

Since the policy was implemented on December 10, 2025, Meta has claimed to have disabled more than 544,000 accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 in just the first week of enforcing the rules. However, instead of making teenagers stop using social media, Meta assessed that this policy triggered a massive migration to other smaller applications and was outside the scope of the new law.

"Cutting off teens from mainstream platforms doesn't mean they stop being online," Meta said in its statement. "What happens is they move to other services that don't have the same protections and security systems as big platforms."

Meta describes this condition as a "whack-a-mole" effect, where when one app is blocked, teenagers quickly switch to other apps such as Lemon8 or Yope. According to Meta, many of these alternative platforms do not have adequate safety features, strong reporting mechanisms, or experienced moderation teams. This is considered to increase the risk of exposure to content that is harmful to minors.

The US technology company also highlighted a major gap in the implementation of the policy. Although hundreds of thousands of accounts have been disabled, many teenagers are reported to easily circumvent the system. Some use VPNs to disguise their location, while others manage to trick the artificial intelligence-based age estimation system with lighting or makeup techniques to look older.

In addition, there are also teenagers who use their parents' accounts. This practice is considered increasingly difficult for platforms to distinguish between adult users and minors, and strengthens Meta's argument that there is currently no consistent industry standard for online age verification.

As an alternative, Meta encourages the Australian government to shift the responsibility for age verification to the app store level. In the proposed scheme, Apple and Google are asked to ensure the age of users and obtain parental consent before an app can be downloaded.

According to Meta, this approach will create a uniform standard that applies to all applications, not just a limited list of social media platforms. "Age verification at the app store level will be more effective and fair, because it covers the entire app ecosystem that teenagers can access," said Meta.

Meta also assessed that encouraging technology companies to provide age-appropriate experiences and strengthening parental controls would be a more sustainable long-term solution than a total ban.

On the other hand, the Australian government remains adamant about the policy. This law threatens fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars for platforms that do not comply with the rules. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed that this ban is aimed at protecting the mental health of young generations.

"We want children to be able to be children, without being constantly exposed to addictive algorithms," Albanese said in a previous statement.

However, the debate has not subsided. A number of observers and technology industry players assess the effectiveness of this ban is still questionable, especially because the rules are easy to be fooled. In the midst of it, other countries such as the United Kingdom and France are reportedly considering similar regulations.

Meta is also pushing a more nuanced approach, focusing on parental controls, improved safety standards, and oversight at the app store level. For now, the process of deactivating the accounts of teenagers in Australia is still ongoing, while the global debate on how best to protect children in the digital world is getting stronger.