As Australia prepares to implement the world’s first social media ban for users under 16, Meta is already taking action—removing its youngest users from Facebook, Instagram, and Threads ahead of the new law.

The company announced on Wednesday that it will start to kick existing under-16 users off its platforms from Dec. 4, notifying them through a mix of email, SMS, and in-app messages. It will also ban under-16s from creating new accounts. The ban does not cover Meta’s Messenger app.

Facebook has more than 150,000 monthly active Australian end-users aged 13-15, while Instagram has more than 350,000, according to a report from the country’s independent online safety regulator.

Meta acknowledges that the ban’s implementation won’t be smooth. “While we are working hard to remove all u

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