Australia says the world will follow social media ban as Meta starts blocking teens

A Facebook message is displayed on a mobile phone, as Meta begins blocking new sign-ups for anyone under 16 in Australia, in this picture illustration taken December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration

SYDNEY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Australia's internet regulator said a teen social media ban would be the first domino to fall in a global push to rein in Big Tech, as Meta's Instagram, Facebook and Threads began locking out hundreds of thousands of accounts ahead of a deadline next week.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she had initially expressed concern about the "blunt-force" approach of blocking under-16s from social media but she had come to embrace it after incremental regulatory changes were not effective enough.