Snapchat bans 415,000 under-16 accounts in Australia

Snapchat has shared that it has locked or disabled over 415,000 under-16 accounts in Australia as part of its efforts to comply with the country’s social media minimum (SMMA) laws.

The social media platform said these accounts belong to users who have either declared they are under 16 or who the company believes to be under 16 based on its age detection technology.

Snapchat said it remains “fully committed” to meeting the requirements of the legislation and continues to block accounts daily.

In November 2024, the Australian government approved the legislation which bans under 16s from using social media.

The law came into effect in December last year, stopping access to 4.7 million accounts belonging to children under the age of 16.

Snapchat added that the law’s current implementation approach still leaves “significant gaps” that could undermine its goals.

The company pointed out that there are technical limitations to accurate and dependable age verification, citing the Australian government’s own trial which found that available age estimation technology was only accurate to within two to three years on average.

In practice, it said this means some young people under 16 may be able to bypass protections, potentially leaving them with reduced safeguards, while others over 16 may incorrectly lose access.

In November last year, Snapchat announced that users in Australia will be able to verify though ConnectID, which is a joint project between major Australian banks Commonwealth Bank (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ and Westpac.

Snapchat also said that the new rules lack industry-wide protections as there are “hundreds” of other apps which fall outside the scope of this law.

Around 75 per cent of time spent on Snapchat in Australia is spent messaging close friends and family.

Snap said it is concerned that young people will turn to alternative messaging services which are not regulated.

The company called for app store-level age verification as an additional safeguard to bolster the SMMA’s implementation in a way that is less likely to have negative unintended consequences.

Snapchat said that this would help ensure that users under 16 are kept off the app while reducing the risk that users over 16 are incorrectly locked out.

“This approach could be a valuable worldwide standard,” it continued. “Rather than blanket age-based social media bans, app store-level age assurance could help the entire ecosystem protect young users more consistently and deliver developmentally appropriate experiences while allowing them to enjoy the benefits of social media.”