Snapchat Blocks 415,000 Underage Accounts in Australia, Flags Gaps in Age Checks

Snapchat Blocks 415,000 Underage Accounts in Australia, Flags Gaps in Age Checks

Snapchat has blocked more than 415,000 accounts in Australia under the country’s new social media ban for users under 16, the company said on Monday, while cautioning that some minors may still be bypassing age-verification systems.

The action follows the rollout of Australia’s world-first legislation targeting underage access to social media. The law, which came into force on December 10, requires platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts. Companies that fail to take what are deemed “reasonable steps” to comply face penalties of up to A$49.5 million (US$34 million).

As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 accounts belonging to under-16 users in Australia. “We continue to lock more accounts daily,” the platform said in an online statement.

Australia’s eSafety regulator reported last month that technology companies had collectively blocked 4.7 million underage accounts, describing the outcome as “significant.”

Still, Snapchat warned that the law leaves what it called “significant gaps.” The company argued that existing age-estimation tools are typically accurate only within a margin of two to three years, which can lead to uneven enforcement.

“In practice, 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,” Snapchat said.

The platform has urged Australian authorities to require app stores to verify users’ ages before allowing downloads, describing it as an additional safeguard. Snapchat’s position aligns with calls from Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, which has also pushed for age checks at the app-store level.

“Creating a centralized verification system at the app-store level would allow for more consistent protection and higher barriers to circumventing the law,” Snapchat said.

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Despite backing efforts to improve online safety, Snapchat said it does not believe an outright ban is the right solution, nor that its platform should be covered under the same restrictions.

“In the case of Snapchat — which is primarily a messaging app used by young people to stay connected with close friends and family — we don’t believe that cutting teens off from these relationships makes them safer, happier, or better off,” the company said.

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The debate underscores growing friction between regulators and technology firms as governments seek stricter controls on children’s online activity, while platforms argue for more targeted and practical safeguards.