Subhead:Thousands of Australians are being warned they may have to undergo facial scans or face losing access to their social media accounts ahead of lockout.#
Meta has begun issuing account warnings to thousands of teenagers as Australia prepares to enforce the nation’s controversial under-16 social media ban.
The tech giant confirmed that children aged 13 to 15 have started receiving messages urging them to download or delete their data before access begins shutting down from December 4. The company said users will be notified through in-app alerts, emails and text messages, giving them a strict 14-day window before accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Threads are disabled. All known under-16 accounts are expected to be removed by December 10.
Messenger will remain accessible despite its former link to Facebook accounts, with Meta noting it sits outside the scope of the new legislation.
