Snapchat announced on Monday that it has blocked or disabled 415,000 accounts of users under the age of 16 in Australia over the past two months, following the entry into force of a new law banning the use of the platform by teenagers under this age.
“We continue to suspend accounts every day,” the company said in a statement. However, Snapchat warned of the limitations of this system, explaining that the tools to estimate users’ ages have a margin of error of two to three years.
"This means that some users under 16 may bypass protections, while young people over 16 may unfairly lose access," the company added.
Snapchat is proposing that Australian authorities require age verification before users can download apps, an idea also supported by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company also criticizes the Australian law, arguing that the ban doesn’t make teenagers safer or happier: “Snapchat is first and foremost a messaging app that young people use to stay connected with friends and family,” it said.
The Australian law has global impact, inspiring similar initiatives in India and France, where a ban on people under 15 is expected to come into effect by January 1, 2027.
