Online platforms will ping Australian teenagers through over a million accounts in coming days offering a choice: download data, freeze profiles or lose the lot when a world-first ban on kids using social media starts on December 10.

TikTok, Snapchat,Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and Threads are poised to deactivate accounts registered by users under 16, five people with knowledge of the plans said.

Britain and France enforced age checks for pornographic websites in June and July and Denmark this month said it will ban under 15s from social media. However, initiatives in places such as France and Florida have been complicated by complaints of impracticality and free speech intrusion.

“The rest of the world is looking at Australia for this new weapon to deal with the apparent problems that some digital platforms are presenting us with,” said Stephen Wilson, founder of identity verification consultancy Lockstep, which has advised the Australian and U.S. governments.