SOCIAL media companies have revoked access to 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia since the country banned use of the platforms by under-16s, officials said.

“We stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters,” communications minister Anika Wells told reporters today. “Now Australian parents can be confident that their kids can have their childhoods back.”

The figures, reported to Australia’s government by ten social media platforms, were the first to show the scale of the landmark ban since it was enacted in December, in response to fears about the effects of harmful online environments on young people.

The law provoked fraught debates in Australia about technology use, privacy, child safety and mental health and has prompted other countries to consider similar measures.

Under Australian law, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to AU$49.5 million (£23m) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts.

“The fact that in spite of some scepticism out there, it’s working and being replicated now around the world, is something that is a source of Australian pride,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today.