Sydney (AFP) - Tech giant Meta said Thursday it is starting to remove under-16s in Australia from Instagram, Threads and Facebook ahead of the country’s world-first youth social media ban.

Australia is requiring major online platforms, also including TikTok and YouTube, to block underage users by December 10, when the new law comes into force.

Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.

“While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by 10 December, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multi-layered process,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Younger users can save and download their online histories, the spokesperson for the US company added.

“Before you turn 16, we will notify you that you will soon be allowed to regain access to these platforms, and your content will be restored exactly as you left it.”

Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are expected to be impacted by the ban, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.

Some popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are exempt, but the list remains under review.

- ‘Weird’ -

Meta said it was committed to complying with the Australian law, but it called for app stores to be held accountable for checking ages instead.

“The government should require app stores to verify age and obtain parental approval whenever teens under 16 download apps, eliminating the need for teens to verify their age multiple times across different apps,” the spokesperson said.

“Social media platforms could then use this verified age information to ensure teens are in age-appropriate experiences.”

YouTube has also attacked the social media ban.

The video-streaming giant said this week the new law would make young Australians “less safe” because under-16s could still visit the website without an account but would lose YouTube safety filters.

But Australia’s communications minister described its argument as “weird”.

- Self-esteem -

“If YouTube is reminding us all that it is not safe and there’s content not appropriate for age-restricted users on their website, that’s a problem that YouTube needs to fix,” Communications Minister Anika Wells said this week.

Wells told reporters some Australian teens had killed themselves as algorithms “latched on” – targeting them with content that drained their self-esteem.

“This specific law will not fix every harm occurring on the internet, but it will make it easier for kids to chase a better version of themselves,” she said.

An internet rights group last week launched a legal challenge to halt the ban.

The Digital Freedom Project said it had challenged the laws in Australia’s High Court, calling them an “unfair” assault on freedom of speech.

Australia expects rebellious teens will do their best to skirt the laws. Guidelines warn they might try to upload fake IDs or use AI to make their photos appear older.

Platforms are expected to devise their own means to stop this happening, but “no solution is likely to be 100 percent effective”, the internet safety watchdog has said.

There is keen interest in whether Australia’s sweeping restrictions can work as regulators around the globe wrestle with the potential dangers of social media.

Malaysia indicated it was planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, while New Zealand will introduce a similar ban.