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Meta Says It Has Taken Down 756,000 Australian Teen Accounts as Ban Enforcement Looms

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)
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)
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Meta Says It Has Taken Down 756,000 Australian Teen Accounts as Ban Enforcement Looms

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)
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)

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said on Thursday it had taken down more than 750,000 accounts it suspected were held by Australians aged under 16 since a world-first ban on teen accounts, and promised more action in the face of possible regulatory intervention.

The company said it had deactivated 462,000 suspect Instagram accounts and 294,000 suspect Facebook accounts from just before the Australian social media ban went live in December to June, up from 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook accounts it said it had removed ‌by January.

The ‌world's largest social media company has said it wants ‌to comply ⁠with a law it ⁠and other platforms have vocally opposed, just as Australia's internet regulator considers an enforcement lawsuit against platforms, including some that Meta owns, that it says have failed to take sufficient steps to comply with the law.

No other platforms have released compliance data that matches the date range given by Meta, but Australian government figures and multiple independent studies have shown more than eight in 10 under-16s were still on social media in the ⁠ban's first three months.

The Australian government proposed the landmark law, which came ‌into force on December 10, on concerns ‌about social media's impact on the physical and mental health of children and young teens.

With other countries ‌around the world considering similar age-restrictions, Australia has accused the platforms of intentionally setting ‌the ban up to fail, and has introduced a law to double the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million ($69.75 million) and give the regulator greater document discovery powers.

Representatives of Meta, TikTok, YouTube owner Google and Snap's Snapchat are scheduled to give evidence in a ‌parliamentary inquiry about the changes on Friday, as are regulatory and government officials.

"Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue ⁠to grow," Meta said ⁠in a statement.

"We share the Australian Government's goal of ensuring young people have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we are meeting our obligations under the law," the company added.

A 2025 Australian trial of age assurance technology found products on the market could effectively support a ban.

Most large platforms, including Meta's, rolled out photo-based age estimation software, although they say they typically first subject users to age inference, or assuming a person's age based on their online activity.

Meta said it was using AI to analyze user profiles for "contextual clues that an account may belong to someone under 16, such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades" and to analyze reports about suspected underage accounts.

The company added that it had removed the option for a person to make more attempts to set up an account if their previous account was deleted.

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Varieties

Canadian Wildfire That Forced 20,000 to Flee May Signal ‘New Normal’

Smoke rises from the Brunswick Creek wildfire, looking north over the Fraser River near Boston Bar, British Columbia, Canada, August 11, 2026 in an aerial photograph. (BC Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from the Brunswick Creek wildfire, looking north over the Fraser River near Boston Bar, British Columbia, Canada, August 11, 2026 in an aerial photograph. (BC Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)
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Canadian Wildfire That Forced 20,000 to Flee May Signal ‘New Normal’

Smoke rises from the Brunswick Creek wildfire, looking north over the Fraser River near Boston Bar, British Columbia, Canada, August 11, 2026 in an aerial photograph. (BC Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from the Brunswick Creek wildfire, looking north over the Fraser River near Boston Bar, British Columbia, Canada, August 11, 2026 in an aerial photograph. (BC Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)

A wildfire that forced more than 20,000 people from their homes in western Canada moved so quickly that crews had to abandon firefighting to help residents escape, a pace British Columbia’s premier said Wednesday may represent a “new normal.”

The Bald Range wildfire erupted Friday near Summerland, a community of about 12,000 in British Columbia’s Okanagan region. By Wednesday, it had grown to about 184 square kilometers (71 square miles) after destroying homes and killing an 80-year-old woman.

"There’s an important set of lessons for us to take about how quickly this moved and that this may be our new normal for fire speed," Premier David Eby said. He said the blaze outpaced wildfire modeling and left some residents with little time to evacuate.

Officials have begun damage assessments, but the area remained unsafe Wednesday and there was no timeline for residents to return.

Crews were clearing vegetation to help slow the fire’s spread as officials warned that thunderstorms could bring erratic winds and increase fire activity. Highway 97, a major route through the area, remained closed.

Eby visited an evacuation reception center in Penticton, where he said he met people devastated by the loss of their homes.

“A lot of emotions in there, obviously,” he told reporters, calling the woman’s death a “tragic loss.”

Summerland pharmacist Jonathan Kiesman said he was worried about displaced patients getting their medications and said seeing the fire approach the community “almost brought tears to my eyes.”

Officials said they were withholding broader details on property losses until residents could be notified directly.

“The last thing that I would want is somebody to have the shock of finding out on social media or on television about their home being lost,” British Columbia Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said.

Eby said the province would review the response, including whether changes are needed to wildfire planning, building standards and vegetation management near communities.

Given the drought and summer heat, he warned, “this is very unlikely to be the last significant fire we see this summer.”

Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes warned that recovery would be long and difficult.

Canada has endured a series of severe wildfire seasons in recent years, with smoke repeatedly drifting into the United States. In record-setting 2023, fires burned more than 14.6 million hectares (36 million acres), an area roughly the size of Illinois.

Canada has warmed faster than the global average in recent decades, while the amount of land burned by wildfires has increased substantially. Much of the country’s forest is remote and dominated by spruce and pine, conditions that can make fires difficult to contain once they become established.

Varieties

Afghan Students Divided over Smartphone Ban at Universities

The Taliban authorities have taken steps to control Afghans' access to technology. Wakil KOHSAR / AFP
The Taliban authorities have taken steps to control Afghans' access to technology. Wakil KOHSAR / AFP
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Afghan Students Divided over Smartphone Ban at Universities

The Taliban authorities have taken steps to control Afghans' access to technology. Wakil KOHSAR / AFP
The Taliban authorities have taken steps to control Afghans' access to technology. Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

Forced to leave their smartphones off campus, Afghan university students are divided over whether the new anti-tech rule has disrupted their studies or done wonders for their concentration.

Soon after Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered government workers to stop using smartphones in June, the ban was also imposed in the world of academia.

A 29-year-old student in the capital Kabul said a staffer had "visited the classrooms and announced that from now onwards, we are not allowed to bring smartphones to the university".

In the western city of Herat, notices posted on the walls of a university and its dorm warned that anyone caught with a smartphone on campus would face "legal action".

No reason was given to students who spoke to AFP, some of whom requested anonymity for security reasons.

At Kandahar University in southern Afghanistan, spokesman Nazir Ahmad Qadari said the move aimed to ensure students "pay attention to their lectures, studies and practical work".

Fifty-eight percent of countries ban mobile phones in schools, citing classroom distraction and risks to wellbeing, according to a March report by UNESCO which made no mention of university bans.

The Taliban authorities have ruled for nearly five years and have taken steps to control Afghans' access to technology without saying why.

Last year, broadband access was restricted in several provinces for weeks, before the government unexpectedly cut off the internet and phone networks nationwide for two days.

Despite this, smartphones are widely used and billboards in cities advertise the latest internet deals.

- 'Can't study properly' -

At universities, the ban has restricted access to online research and course materials, with one Herat student saying he had used his phone to help with about half the syllabus.

"If the explanation was not good, we used our phones to take photos and videos of the slides or the writing on the board, so we could review them later," the 21-year-old said.

That view was shared in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where a 22-year-old journalism student told AFP: "We can't study properly without smartphones".

The human rights director for the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Fiona Frazer, said there "may be sound reasons to manage students' use of technology".

However, UNAMA had concerns about government restrictions that limit "access to information, freedom of expression" and the ability to participate fully in daily life.

Back in Kabul, the 29-year-old student said time-saving artificial intelligence tools are now out of reach, while people now have to carry dozens of physical books around campus instead of using e-books.

There is no ban on laptops, but many students cannot afford one.

The student, who is also a freelance translator, has also found it hard to concentrate on lectures knowing he could be missing out on work opportunities.

"I need to check my emails and WhatsApp every other minute, because I receive messages from my clients... if I don't answer, I can lose the offer," he said.

Although he can pay the 10 Afghanis ($0.15) fee to store his smartphone at the university entrance, he said it's difficult for others "because most of the students are not financially stable".

- Improved grades -

A second Kabul student, 28, said he had bought a basic phone which he was allowed to use on campus to make calls.

But he complained of the extra expense and being "deprived of the current technology".

However, not everyone opposes the ban.

In Kandahar, home of the supreme leader, medical student Sanaullah Yousufzai said the rule had improved relations between teachers and students.

"We can better focus on the lessons and lectures; there are no more interruptions due to calls," said Yousufzai.

But the 25-year-old remained worried that he might not be able to reach his family in an emergency.

For journalism student Mohammad Hakim Haqmal, 22, the change had seen his score improve from 75 to 80 percent.

Although his classmates had been using their phones to get information for their studies, they were also wasting time on social media.

After the ban, "they tried harder, studied well, and got better results".

Varieties

British Eccentrics Push Humble Garden Shed to New Heights

London steam ship enthusiast Peter McLaughlin began recreating a boat's boiler room in his back garden shed after retiring early with ill health. Henry NICHOLLS / AFP
London steam ship enthusiast Peter McLaughlin began recreating a boat's boiler room in his back garden shed after retiring early with ill health. Henry NICHOLLS / AFP
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British Eccentrics Push Humble Garden Shed to New Heights

London steam ship enthusiast Peter McLaughlin began recreating a boat's boiler room in his back garden shed after retiring early with ill health. Henry NICHOLLS / AFP
London steam ship enthusiast Peter McLaughlin began recreating a boat's boiler room in his back garden shed after retiring early with ill health. Henry NICHOLLS / AFP

"Welcome to the Shanty Shed," shouted steam ship enthusiast Peter McLaughlin over the din of pistons lunging back and forth as clouds of white vapor billowed from his London garden hideaway.

As an ear-splitting whistle blasted out, the 68-year-old settled into a captain's chair next to a huge boiler he calls "the beast".

McLaughlin credits the shed, a recreation of a ship's boiler room, with "saving my life" after ill health forced him to retire at 50 from his job laying cables, said AFP.

Nearly two decades on, it was one of 38 sheds entered in this year's Shed of the Year competition, now in its 20th year.

Long just a place for rusting lawnmowers, broken bicycles and old paint pots -- sheds are enjoying a renaissance as personal sanctuaries, according to competition founder and "head-sheddie" Andrew Wilcox.

Amid a growing trend for themed sheds, contest categories included "colorful", "eco haven" and "pub", with this year's crown won by a group of friends' gaming den.

At McLaughlin's shed in West Drayton, west London, a strong smell of coal and hot oil hangs in the air.

Every inch is crammed with pumps, engines, clocks, pressure gauges and other steam rail and ship memorabilia.

Some pieces were picked up online while others came from landmarks such as Battersea Power Station where McLaughlin worked while it was being decommissioned.

"All these different places I went to I just collected things. They were being thrown away and I just thought 'no, you can't do that'," he said.

Such is his dedication; the shed was "the first thing" he asked about after coming round from life-saving surgery a few years ago.

- Mini-pubs -

Britain's love affair with the garden shed has a long history.

Writers George Bernard Shaw and Roald Dahl both worked from sheds in their gardens.

Shaw's shed was famously mounted on a revolving mechanism so he could follow the sun throughout the day.

An exact life-size replica of Dahl's shed -- in which he wrote children's classics such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has even been recreated at the central England museum celebrating his life.

Mini-pubs are among the most popular shed themes.

In Crosby near northwestern Liverpool, 47-year-old postman Steven Fraser's "Fraser Arms" has become a focal point for a tight-knit group of 15 childhood friends.

The pals gather regularly at the extended six meter by two meter (20ft by 7 ft) pub shed, decorated from floor to ceiling with football memorabilia and photos of them on nights out.

With homes and growing families eating up spare cash, nights on the town and foreign trips have been replaced by cosy get-togethers in Fraser's back garden.

"When we were younger we'd go out all the time but (later) you could see some of the lads were fading away," he said.

- Place to 'be you' -

Annual highlights include a fiercely contested darts competition, a Christmas party and a themed Oktoberfest night with German beer and music.

"There's no hassle, you're just all together, you put the music on and everyone's happy," he said.

Men's community sheds, catering for groups of men, are also increasingly popular in Britain, having gained a strong foothold over the past 20 years.

Today hundreds of "men's sheds" provide welcoming spaces in different premises -- from church halls to former industrial units -- where mainly older men can meet, make friends, and share practical skills such as carpentry, while combating loneliness.

Whether group or solitary spaces, Alex Johnson, author of "The Philosophy of Sheds", says they provide a vital place for people to shut the door on life's pressures and "retreat into a world entirely of their own making".

His own modest garden hideaway evolved into a vocation with a newsletter and blog that attracted a global following.

"A shed is a sanctuary. You can dress it up however you like, decorate it, play whatever music you want," he said.

"It's your own kind of heaven ... the one place where you can be you."