Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said on Thursday (Aug 13) it had taken down more than 750,000 accounts it suspected were held by Australians aged under 16 since a world-first ban on teen accounts, and promised more action in the face of possible regulatory intervention.

The company said it had deactivated 462,000 suspect Instagram accounts and 294,000 suspect Facebook accounts from just before the Australian social media ban went live in December to June, up from 331,000 Instagram accounts and 173,000 Facebook accounts it said it had removed by January.

The world’s largest social media company has said it wants to comply with a law it and other platforms have vocally opposed, just as Australia’s internet regulator considers an enforcement lawsuit against platforms, including some that Meta owns, that it says have failed to take sufficient steps to comply with the law.

No other platforms have released compliance data that matches the date range given by Meta, but Australian government figures and multiple independent studies have shown more than eight in 10 under-16s were still on social media in the ban’s first three months.

The Australian government proposed the landmark law, which came into force on Dec 10, on concerns about social media’s impact on the physical and mental health of children and young teens.

With other countries around the world considering similar age-restrictions, Australia has accused the platforms of intentionally setting the ban up to fail, and has introduced a law to double the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million (US$69.75 million) and give the regulator greater document discovery powers.

PARLIAMENTARY HEARING ON FRIDAY

Representatives of Meta, TikTok, YouTube owner Google and Snap’s Snapchat are scheduled to give evidence in a parliamentary inquiry about the changes on Friday, as are regulatory and government officials.

“Enforcement is ongoing, and these numbers will continue to grow,” Meta said in a statement.

“We share the Australian Government’s goal of ensuring young people have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we are meeting our obligations under the law,” the company added.

A 2025 Australian trial of age assurance technology found products on the market could effectively support a ban. 

Most large platforms, including Meta’s, rolled out photo-based age estimation software, although they say they typically first subject users to age inference, or assuming a person’s age based on their online activity.

Meta said it was using AI to analyse user profiles for “contextual clues that an account may belong to someone under 16, such as birthday celebrations or mentions of school grades” and to analyse reports about suspected underage accounts. 

The company added that it had removed the option for a person to make more attempts to set up an account if their previous account was deleted. (CNA/ Reuters)

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Meta, owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, announced it resolved a major security flaw in its artificial intelligence support assistant that allowed hackers to bypass security protocols and take over premium Instagram accounts.

“This issue has been resolved and we are securing impacted accounts,” Andy Stone, a communication official of Meta said on US based social media platform X on Tuesday.

The critical vulnerability, which circulated on Telegram channels before being exposed on the social media platform X, permitted bad actors to hijack accounts without needing access to the victim’s email address or phone number.

The official White House Instagram page associated with former US President Barack Obama was also hacked, according to a Monday report by entertainment news outlet TMZ.

The breach was discovered on Sunday after several unusual posts appeared on the account

The security exploit required attackers to use a virtual private network to match the geographic location of the target user to bypass automated regional safeguards.

The perpetrator would then trigger a password reset option to open a chat window with the Meta AI Support Assistant, a tool launched globally earlier this year to automate account recovery and technical support.

The hacker simply instructed the automated system to change the registered email address of the targeted handle to their own address, prompting the chatbot to send an 8-digit verification code to the attacker.

After entering the code back into the chat interface, the system generated a password reset link, enabling the attacker to set a new password and lock out the legitimate account owner.

The cyberattack campaign compromised several high-profile handles over the weekend, including the inactive Barack Obama White House account, global beauty retailer Sephora, and the personal account of US Space Force Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna.

The compromised Obama White House account, which had not seen activity since 2017, was briefly defaced with pro-Iranian images and messages before Meta intervened. (Anadolu Agency)

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The company completed the rollout on Facebook Messenger in 2023 and later made the feature optional on Instagram with plans to make it default.

But, after seven years, Meta has decided not to proceed with the wider deployment to Instagram, which will now only offer standard encryption.

Standard encryption means an internet service provider can access private material if needed. It is the common system in most major online services such as Gmail.

The decision has been welcomed by child protection groups, including the NSPCC, which has long warned the technology could put children at risk.

“We are really pleased,” said Rani Govender from the charity, adding E2EE “can allow perpetrators to evade detection, enabling the grooming and abuse of children to go unseen.”

Privacy campaigners, however, say the move represents a step backwards. 

Years-long fight

Since 2019, Meta has defended its plans amid criticism, while working through the technical challenge of bringing the technology to Facebook and Instagram.

The company did not publicly announce its decision to abandon plans for the Instagram rollout.

Instead, it quietly updated the app’s terms and conditions in March.

“End‑to‑end encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May 2026.

“If you have chats affected by this change, you will see instructions on how to download any media or messages you may wish to keep,” it said.

Meta told reporters the decision was taken because too few users were opting in to use the feature.

But commentators say take‑up of optional features is often low, as requiring users to opt in creates extra friction.

Some analysts, including cyber security expert Victoria Baines, professor of IT at Gresham College, believe the decision reflects a shift in Meta’s attitude towards privacy.

“Social media platforms monetise our communications — our posts, likes and messages — so they can serve targeted advertising,” she said.

“And increasingly, companies like Meta are focusing on training AI models, for which messaging data can be extremely valuable. I think the decision is more complex.”

Instagram has previously said direct messages are not used to train AI.

The company declined to comment further on its decision to reverse course on privacy, and Instagram boss Adam Mosseri declined to be interviewed.

Last month, Meta told staff their clicks and activity on work devices would begin to be collected as training data for the company’s AI models.

Campaigners such as Big Brother Watch say Meta’s decision could influence the wider social media industry.

However, in March, TikTok told the BBC it had no plans to introduce the technology for direct messages.

Fourteen days later, Instagram updated its terms and conditions to confirm it would not proceed with its rollout.

Commentators including Baines believe these decisions may slow the spread of E2EE, leaving it largely confined to dedicated messaging apps in the future. (BBC)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed a major digital milestone, becoming the first world leader and politician to amass 100 million followers on Instagram, underlining his unmatched presence on social media platforms globally.

He joined Instagram in 2014, and over the last decade, his account has grown steadily, emerging as one of the most followed and engaged political profiles in the world.

The platform has been used to share glimpses of official engagements, international visits, public outreach initiatives, cultural moments, and personal reflections, helping him connect with a wide and diverse audience.

With this achievement, PM Modi now ranks number one among global leaders on Instagram, maintaining a significant lead over his international counterparts. The Prime Minister’s follower count is more than double that of US President Donald Trump, who holds the second position with 43.2 million followers.

Other world leaders trail far behind, including Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with 15 million followers, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with 14.4 million, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 11.6 million, and Argentine President Javier Milei with 6.4 million followers.

Notably, the combined follower count of the next five major world leaders remains lower than PM Modi’s individual total, highlighting the scale of his digital reach and influence. Observers point out that the Prime Minister’s Instagram presence resonates strongly with younger audiences, both in India and abroad, reflecting changing modes of political communication in the digital age.

The gap is equally striking within India’s political landscape. PM Modi is far ahead of all other Indian political leaders on Instagram. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath occupies the second spot with around 16.1 million followers, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi follows with approximately 12.6 million followers. The difference underscores the Prime Minister’s dominant position on social media platforms among domestic political figures.

The milestone reflects a broader trend of leaders increasingly using visual and interactive platforms like Instagram to engage directly with citizens, bypassing traditional communication channels. For PM Modi, social media has remained a key tool for outreach, governance messaging, and public engagement. (NDTV)

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A 24-year-old Sri Lankan national in Bengaluru has fallen victim to an online sextortion racket involving an unidentified individual who first contacted him through Instagram.

According to a case filed by the police, the unknown person met the victim, a student, on Instagram and gradually developed an online friendship. The individual later contacted the victim on WhatsApp. 

The victim alleged that during the video calls, the accused secretly took his personal photos and private videos without his consent. The accused then began demanding money in exchange for deleting the content.

When the victim refused to pay, the individual allegedly threatened to circulate the videos to the complainant’s friends and family and upload them on social media platforms.

Fearing the consequences, the victim transferred Rs 36,000 to the accused. However, the accused continued to demand more money, threatening to publish the videos online if additional payments were not made.

The victim said the continuous threats have caused him severe mental distress and filed a police complaint. Police have registered a case and initiated further investigation. (NDTV)

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Instagram, the Meta-owned photo and video platform, is launching Instagram Rings, a new program meant to celebrate the creativity of its more than three billion monthly active users.

But of those three billion users, only 25 will receive Rings, with the honourees getting both a physical ring designed by the acclaimed English fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, as well as a unique digital golden ring for their Instagram profile and stories.

“We felt that it was time to have an award that recognizes people who take these creative chances on our platform,” says Eva Chen, the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, who helped conceptualize the awards program. “These people are cultural catalysts, and they’re sparking conversations, and by doing that, they encourage people to express themselves as well.

Chen, Wales Bonner and Instagram head Adam Mosseri will be among the judges for Rings, joined by experts like director Spike Lee, rugby star Ilona Maher, makeup artist Pat McGrath, designer Marc Jacobs, actress Yara Shahidi, the artist KAWS and others.

Chen says that the judges worked with Instagram’s own creator teams to winnow down the list from billions to millions to thousands to hundreds, before they settled on their 25 winners.

“Instagram is a community of three billion people, and those three billion people probably reflect a billion different interests, so the criteria was really tough,” Chen says. “I’m saying this as a judge, seeing the huge list of nominees, and being able to cull it down just to 25, it was a challenge, and I know that, like the other judges, it was too many great people to choose from. But really, we were looking for people who take creative chances and who are always pushing the envelope and thinking about new ways to talk to their audience.”

The winners will span content topics and categories, from fashion or makeup to sports and entertainment, allowing for a wide array of honourees across interest groups, reflecting the larger Instagram community.

The most intriguing part of the Instagram Rings program is what the 25 winners will receive. They will get the physical ring in a presentation box, which Chen, Mosseri and Wales Bonner developed, but they will also get something even more unusual: Customization for their Instagram profiles.

If you use Instagram you know that the ring around your stories is typically an orange-red-pink gradient (or green if it is to your close friends), but Rings winners will see their stories surrounded by a unique golden ring. They will also get the ability to customize the background colour of their Instagram profile, an ability that will be unique to them, and their content will be featured in their own spotlight and feed within the app. (THR)

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A Dutch court on Thursday ordered Meta Platforms to give Facebook and Instagram users an easier way to choose a timeline that shows posts in chronological order rather than being shaped by algorithms that track their activity and interests. 

The District Court of Amsterdam issued the preliminary injunction in summary proceedings, and it found that elements of both platforms violated the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Meta Ireland has two weeks to provide users with a “direct and simple” option to select a non-profiled timeline, the order in which posts and pieces of media submitted by other users is displayed. The company’s platforms must ensure that this choice remains in effect even if an app or website is closed, or the user navigates to other sections.

Currently, user-chosen settings automatically revert from chronological order to an algorithm-based profiled recommendation system whenever the platform is reopened, a practice the ruling describe as a prohibited “dark pattern.” The court said this undermines freedom of information.

“People in the Netherlands are not sufficiently able to make free and autonomous choices about the use of profiled recommendation systems,” the court said. It noted that these protections are especially important ahead of the parliamentary election on Oct. 29.

The Dutch digital rights group Bits of Freedom, which brought the case, welcomed the ruling. “It is unacceptable that a few American tech billionaires can determine how we view the world,” spokesperson Maartje Knaap said.

Meta said it plans to appeal the ruling. “We fundamentally disagree with this decision,” the company said in a statement. The company said it already complies with the Digital Services Act, and that it informs its users in the Netherlands about how to turn off the profiled timeline setting. (NL Times)

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Meta Platforms Inc. faces a historic antitrust trial beginning Monday that could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups it bought more than a decade ago that have since grown into social media powerhouses.

The looming antitrust trial will be the first big test of President Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission’s ability to challenge Big Tech. The lawsuit was filed against Meta — then called Facebook — in 2020, during Trump’s first term. It claims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market.

Meta, the FTC argues, has maintained a monopoly by pursuing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, “expressed in 2008: ‘It is better to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.”

Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” the FTC says in its complaint, just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers.

“Unable to maintain its monopoly by fairly competing, the company’s executives addressed the existential threat by buying up new innovators that were succeeding where Facebook failed,” the FTC says.

Facebook bought Instagram — then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following — in 2012. The $1 billion cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012.

Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller “acqui-hires” — a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion.

WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried, but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Meta’s competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apple’s messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp.

“The FTC already has the difficult task, whether it’s looking at 10 years ago or five years ago or today, of trying to define what is the market we’re talking about in a sufficiently narrow way that it can show Meta has a ton of power in that market,” said Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “And I do think that challenge has gotten harder as the years have gone by and we see more and more potential competitors in social media spaces.”

Meta, meanwhile, says the FTC’s lawsuit “defies reality.”

“The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commission’s action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final. Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI,” the company said in a statement.

In a filing last week, Meta also stressed that the FTC “must prove that Meta has monopoly power in its claimed relevant market now, not at some time in the past.” This, experts say, could also prove challenging since more competitors have emerged in the social media space in the years since the company bought WhatsApp and Instagram.

Meta’s fate will be decided by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who late last year denied Meta’s request for a summary judgment and ruled that the case must go to trial.

Boasberg “seems to be skeptical” of the FTC’s narrow market definition in his rulings to date, Swanson said. He added that the judge also said it is a “fact question,” which means he is open to hearing what the FTC and its experts have to say to define that narrow market.

While the FTC may face an uphill battle in proving its case, the stakes are high for Meta, whose advertising business could be cut in half if it’s forced to spin off Instagram.

“Instagram is now Meta’s biggest money maker in the U.S., its most lucrative market, where the app accounts for 50.5% of the company’s ad revenues in 2025. Instagram has also been picking up the slack for Facebook on the user front, particularly among young people, for a long time,” said Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg. “The trial also comes as Meta is trying to bring back OG Facebook in an effort to appeal to Gen Z and younger users as they join social media. Social media usage is far more fragmented today than it was in 2012 when Facebook acquired Instagram, and Facebook isn’t where the cool college kids hang out anymore. Meta needs Instagram to continue growing, especially as more advertisers think Instagram-first with their Meta budgets.”

But Meta isn’t the only technology company in the sights of federal antitrust regulators, Google and Amazon face their own cases. The remedy phase of Google’s case is scheduled to begin on April 21. A federal judge declared the search giant an illegal monopoly last August.

“A big theme here is we are applying 19th-century laws to 21st-century markets. And I think it’s an open question whether the judgment developments to antitrust law can keep up with markets as they are changing — these fluid and dynamic tech markets in particular,” Swanson said. “And this will be a case that speaks directly to that.” (ABC News)

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Sri Lanka has launched a campaign with seven (07) mega influencers, with travel-seeking global audiences and from all the key source markets to Sri Lanka, to create some of the most engaging content about Sri Lanka under the tagline “You Will Come back for More”.

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), these influencers are expected to promote Sri Lanka among social media-savvy global travel seekers targeting the upcoming winter season of 2024/25.  

This mega influencer campaign is the biggest Instagram-focused digital content campaign undertaken for 2024 targeting a global social media-based travel audience of 7.5 million where the focus is mainly gaining to multiple destinations including the UK, France, Germany, Russia, India, USA, Australia, Singapore, Cyprus, UAE, India, etc. Overall, the media value expected to be gained from this campaign is well over Rs. 44 million. 

Over 200 IG & FB posts, reels, and various other promotional content were expected to be created about Sri Lanka by inspiring winter holiday seekers to select Sri Lanka as the ideal holiday destination to visit Sri Lanka as one of the most Instagramable islands in the world

Within 10 days of an exclusively tailored destination promotional tour, influencers explored a perfect blend of some of the most highlighted tourism attractions as well as lesser-known destinations including, Haputhale, UVA- Paranagama, Wellawaya, Ohiya, and Kurunegala, to create some of the most inspiring travel content about the destination. 

Renowned international travel Instagrammer and content creator Ms. Dorothy Soh from Singapore who has over 1.2 million global follower base on Instagram (on Instagram: @dotzsoh) stated, “This is my 4th time on your beautiful island because I love the landscape, the people, the culture, the food, and the amazing scenery. All these factors make us keep returning back to destination, Sri Lanka. I will definitely share my travel experiences and lovely memories of Sri Lanka with my followers across the globe.” 

Major hospitality partners in Sri Lanka including Galle Face Hotel, Jetwing Hotels & Resorts, and boutique hotels such as Teardrop Collection and Garfield Bungalow & Cottages partnered with SLTPB for this national tourism promotion by offering their hospitality support while creating many reasons to visit Sri Lanka as the most preferred holiday getaway in Asia. 

The Department of Archeology, Central Cultural Fund, Lotus Tower PLC, Uva Tourism, Haputale Hoteliers Association, Haputale Estate, Ceylon Tea Board, and Barista Coffee Sri Lanka also extended their support to this project. (Newswire)

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Cricket in India is like a religion and cricketers from our nation are treated no less than celebrities. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that former Indian captain Virat Kohli is the highest-earning Indian on Instagram.

According to a recent report, Kohli rakes in a staggering sum of INR 11.45 crore from every post of his on the photo-sharing app. Even then, Kohli stood 14 on the list of the highest-earning celebrities on Instagram with star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo leading the list.

The Portuguese striker has the most followers on the Meta-owned app and therefore it comes as little surprise that he pipped fellow superstar Lionel Messi to first place.

According to a report from Hopper HQ, Ronaldo and Messi are followed by Hollywood superstar Selena Gomez. Kohli is the only Indian in the top 20 list for 2023.

According to the same report, Ronaldo commands a massive fee of USD 3.23 million for every sponsored post, which roughly translates to INR 26.75 crore. His eternal rival Messi, who came in second place earns USD 2.56 million per Instagram post which translates to INR 21.49 crore.

Kohli meanwhile commands a fee of USD 1.38 million per post, and the star cricketer has a huge army of 256 million followers on the platform.

The 34-year-old is currently on a break having been rested by the BCCI ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 which is set to start from August 2. India are set to kick-start their campaign with a meeting against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2.

The last time India squared off against Pakistan it was in the T20 World Cup 2022, wherein Kohli’s knock had guided India to a comeback win. The star batter has been in scintillating form in 2023, he finished among the top run scorers in IPL 2023 and he will be looking to carry forward that momentum to the Asia Cup, as well as the ODI World Cup 2023 which will be held on Indian shores from October 5 to November 19. (News18)

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Thalapathy Vijay’s Instagram debut turned record-breaker, thanks to the crazy fan-following the actor is carrying.

The actor opened his account on Instagram around 4 PM on April 2 and within a couple of hours, it reached 1 million followers. The account reached 1 million followers in just 99 minutes, becoming the quickest ever to reach the milestone in India.

It is also the third fastest Instagram account ever worldwide to hit 1 million followers, after BTS V (53 minutes) and Angelina Jolie (59 minutes). The actor’s account, @actorvijay has also crossed 2 million followers and currently stands at 4.2 million.

Thalapathy Vijay announced his arrival on Insta with a post that has crossed 2.6 million likes. It becomes the most-liked Kollywood celebrity post, surpassing Sivakarthikeyan’s post. Vijay’s post is also the third fastest 1 million liked photo in India, after Yash and Allu Arjun’s posts. (Sacnilk)

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Facing a drop in advertising revenues, Facebook and Instagram have begun a week-long rollout of their first paid verification service, testing users’ willingness to pay for social media features that until now have been free.

Parent company Meta started piloting on Friday a subscription in Australia and New Zealand before it appears in larger markets. The service will cost US$11.99 on the web and US$14.99 on the iOS and Android mobile platforms.

Subscribers Down Under who provide government-issued IDs can start applying for a verified badge, offering protection against impersonation, direct access to customer support and more visibility, according to the company.

“We’ll be gradually rolling out access to Meta Verified on Facebook and Instagram and expect to reach 100 per cent availability within the first 7 days of the rollout,” a Meta spokesperson told AFP news agency.

Some attempts to join Meta Verified from Sydney found the service was not available on the first day of the rollout.

“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram.

Crucially, the move also provides Meta with a way of mining more revenue from its two billion users.

The swelling army of creators, influencers and pseudo-celebrities who make a living online could be obvious users of verification, according to experts.

Many of them complain that it can be difficult to smooth technical and administrative problems, causing delays and lost revenue. (TRT World)

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