Meta will block teenagers and children under 16 in Australia from social media platforms as early as December 4, six days before a law banning access to social media for children under that age comes into force.

“From today, Meta is informing Australian users it believes are 13 to 15 years old that they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook,” the US tech company said.

“Meta will begin blocking the creation of new accounts by persons under the age of 16 and blocking access to existing accounts from December 4, and anticipates deleting all accounts known to belong to children under 16 by December 10,” the announcement clarified.

The company added that it is asking young users of its platforms to update their contact information so that they can be notified when they can get an account again.

It also informed them that they can download and save their posts, videos and messages before their account is closed, although it assured them that they will be able to access their accounts “exactly as they were left” once they turn 16.

According to government figures, there are about 350,000 Instagram users and 150,000 Facebook users aged 13 to 15 in Australia.

As of December 10, social media in Australia is required to block users who are under 16 years old. In case of violation, they risk a fine of nearly 28 million euros (49.5 million Australian dollars).

“We share the Australian government’s goal of creating safe and age-appropriate online experiences, but excluding teenagers from their friends and communities is not the answer,” Meta argued.

The company would like a law that would require children under the age of 16 to have parental approval to have a social media account.

The Australian legislation, one of the world’s strictest on paper, is being closely watched by other countries that are also seeking to set frameworks for children’s use of social media.

However, many experts believe the law is mainly symbolic because of the difficulties in confirming the age of internet users.