SYDNEY: Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts in Australia under the country’s new social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, while cautioning that some users may still bypass age verification measures.
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The platform called on Australian authorities to require app stores to verify users’ ages as an “additional safeguard” for the world-first legislation, which came into effect on December 10. Other tech companies, including Meta, TikTok and YouTube, must also prevent underage users from holding accounts. Failure to take “reasonable steps” can result in fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$34 million).
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Australia’s eSafety regulator reported last month that tech platforms had already blocked 4.7 million accounts, noting “significant outcomes” in curbing underage access. Snapchat said it continues to block accounts daily but warned that its age-estimation technology, accurate only to within two to three years, could leave some under-16 users with access while unfairly restricting some over-16s.
Snapchat echoed Meta’s call for app-store-level age verification. “Creating a centralised verification system at the app-store level would allow for more consistent protection and higher barriers to circumventing the law,” it said.
The company said it did not view a full ban as the right approach. “In the case of Snapchat — primarily a messaging app used by young people to stay connected with close friends and family — cutting teens off from these relationships does not make them safer or happier,” the statement added.
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Snapchat said it understands Australia’s objectives and wants to protect users online but believes its platform should not be fully covered by the under-16 ban.