Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) says it has taken down 756,000 accounts it believes belonged to Australians under 16 since a nationwide ban on teen social media use took effect on December 10. The company disclosed the figure on August 13, splitting it into 462,000 suspect Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts removed between December and June. That is up sharply from the 331,000 Instagram and 173,000 Facebook accounts Meta had reported removing by January. The numbers arrive just as Australia's internet regulator weighs an enforcement lawsuit against platforms it says have not done enough to comply.
Bull Case: Growth Engine Still Has Room To Run
Meta's ability to absorb a compliance fight without blinking comes down to the size of its advertising machine. The company pulled in $114 billion in advertising revenue in the first half of 2026 alone, accounting for 97.7% of total sales, and Wall Street analysts expect that base to grow at a 21.6% annualized clip through 2028. That kind of scale gives Meta room to fund both regulatory compliance and its next act. Crucially, Meta's AI upgrades are directly compounding ad efficiency, while its Advantage+ automated tools have scaled to a $75 billion annual revenue run rate, proving that heavy infrastructure investments are immediately translating into high-yielding advertiser returns.
Management is also eyeing new income streams beyond the core apps, including smart glasses and headsets, plus selling excess AI computing capacity…
