More than half a million accounts have been wiped from Facebook, Instagram and Threads since under-16s in Australia were banned from social media in December.
Meta, the tech giant behind the three platforms, said it had removed 544,052 accounts belonging to teens in a compliance update a month after the ban came into force on December 10.
Between December 4 and 11, Meta said it took down 330,639 Instagram accounts, 173,497 Facebook accounts, and 39,916 Threads accounts it believed belonged to those under 16.
Teenagers are also banned from using other platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Kick, and YouTube, with the onus on tech giants to detect and deactivate accounts.
Fines of up to $49.5 million (NZ$86.4 million) apply if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to remove under-16 users.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the ban would protect children from online harms and the negative impact of addictive algorithms.
"With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as 'behavioural cocaine''," she said in a National Press Club speech before the ban's launch.
In its update, Meta took aim at the ban, arguing it failed to increase the safety and wellbeing of young Australians as they could still use platforms like YouTube in a logged-out state.
"The premise of the law, which prevents under 16 year-olds from holding a social media account so they aren't exposed to an 'algorithmic experience' is false," the tech giant said.
"Platforms that allow teens to still use them in a logged-out state still use algorithms to determine content the user may be interested in - albeit in a less personalised way that can be appropriately tailored to a person's age."
App stores should be required to verify age and obtain parental consent before children can download any app, Meta said.
"That is the only way to guarantee consistent, industry-wide protections for young people ... and to avoid the whack-a-mole effect of catching up with new apps that teens will migrate to," it said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the rollout wouldn't be perfect but other countries were following in Australia's footsteps.
"It won't be perfect because this is a big change," he said before the ban kicked.
"I've been asked ... what will success look like? Success is the fact that it's happening.
"Success is the fact that we're having this discussion, parents are talking to their children around the breakfast table."
Meta wants the government to engage with tech companies to "find a better way forward" including incentivising industry to raise the standard in providing safe algorithms.
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