Tech giant Meta said Wednesday Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s is sending youngsters to less regulated platforms, making them less safe.

“We’ve consistently raised concerns that this poorly developed law could push teens to less regulated platforms or apps. We’re now seeing those concerns become reality,” the US company said in a statement.

Lesser known chat and image sharing apps Lemon8 and yope, which are not currently listed in the social media ban, have shot up the download charts in Australia.

Meta said many alternative apps did not offer the same safety features, such as specialized teen accounts, that it had developed.

“While we’ll meet our legal obligations, we remain concerned this law will make teens less safe.”

Australia imposed the sweeping restrictions on Wednesday, barring anyone under 16 from using major social media platforms. The world-first move is aimed at curbing what the government calls harmful “predatory algorithms” targeting children. The rules immediately locked hundreds of thousands of adolescents out of apps they spend hours scrolling each day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation had reached a breaking point with the influence of major tech companies, declaring that it was time for Australia to “take back control.” “Enough is enough. It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced,” he said.

The new law prohibits platforms from creating or maintaining accounts for any Australian-based user under 16. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to US$33 million, making Australia one of the first countries to challenge social media giants on such a scale.

The ban covers Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, as well as streaming services Twitch and Kick. Threads and X are also included. The law took effect just after midnight.

While research increasingly links heavy social media use to declining teen well-being, experts caution that isolating the effects of online time from other lifestyle factors remains difficult.