Snapchat has suspended 415,000 accounts in Australia in compliance with laws prohibiting users under the age of 16 from using the social media platform.

The company announced the large number of account closures on Monday. However, it warned that some teenagers may be circumventing the age verification system.

The company has urged Australian authorities to force users to verify their age through the app, which the company called an “additional security measure.”

Platforms such as Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube must block accounts of underage users under the new law. The law came into effect on December 10, 2025.

Companies that fail to comply with the law face fines of around A$495 million.

Australia’s online safety regulator said last month that tech companies had already blocked 470,000 accounts.

By the end of January, Snapchat said it had suspended 415,000 accounts of people under the age of 16. The company said, ‘We are closing more accounts every day.’

But the company said there were ‘significant gaps’ in the law and that the age estimation system could only give accurate results within two to three years.

This means that some under-16s could bypass the security system, while some over-16s could lose access unnecessarily. Snapchat has worked with Meta to recommend that Australia make age verification mandatory in app stores. The company says the verification system will strengthen security. The company said that a complete ban was not an appropriate measure and that it did not need to put its platform under the social media ban.