Social media firms urge caution on early Australia under-16 ban data
XLC•Meta, Google and TikTok disclose account removals
Meta released figures a day earlier showing it had deactivated 756,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to underage users, up from about 500,000 in March. YouTube's Lord said Google has stopped about 740,000 holders of Google accounts from using their accounts to use YouTube.
TikTok's Australian head of public policy Jessica Loftstedt said the company's compliance efforts were an "iterative process". The company had taken down 550,000 accounts when the law took effect and had since been removing about 24,000 a month.
The eSafety commissioner is scheduled to testify at the inquiry later on Friday.
Platforms warn against over-reading early compliance data
Top social media platforms urged the Australian government not to place too much weight on early evidence showing most children still use their products despite a landmark under-16 ban, as lawmakers weigh tougher penalties and investigative powers for regulators.
