Australians aged under 16 have been warned they have a fortnight until their accounts are scrubbed from some popular social media platforms.

Three weeks before Australia’s world-leading social media ban kicks in on December 10, tech giant Meta is to begin notifying young teen users they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook.

YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and live-streaming platform Kick are also included in the ban, while popular gaming platform Roblox is exempt.

The platforms have been included in the ban because their “sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction between two or more users”, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has said.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said earlier in November that the laws were not a cure to keeping kids safe online, but they were a treatment plan that will make a “meaningful difference”.

Meta will begin removing access to accounts and blocking under-16 users from creating new ones as early as December 4.

The platforms could face fines of up to $49.5 million if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to block young users from this date.

Meta said on Thursday that users would receive a two-week notice period through in-app messages, emails and text messages before they lost access to their accounts.

“While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by December 10, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multilayered process,” Meta vice-president and global head of safety Antigone Davis said.

Platforms must implement age-assurance technology, but eSafety has not outlined a specific type or method. It has instead warned what they should not do, including solely relying on users declaring dates of birth.

Davis said a more consistent approach to age assurance was needed, such as OS/app store-level age verification. It has been adopted by other countries and allows parents to share a child’s age range.

Meta has confirmed under-16s will be able to archive their existing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts so they can access them again when they turn 16.

Meta regional policy director Mia Garlick said teen users would receive instructions for archiving and saving the content in their accounts.

“When you turn 16 and can access our apps again all your content will be available exactly as you left it,” she said.

The eSafety Commissioner has clarified the list is not final and more alterations could be made after the ban begins.

-AAP