Pakistan, Feb. 2 -- SYDNEY: Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts in Australia under the country's new social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, while cautioning that some users may still bypass age verification measures.

The platform called on Australian authorities to require app stores to verify users' ages as an "additional safeguard" for the world-first legislation, which came into effect on December 10. Other tech companies, including Meta, TikTok and YouTube, must also prevent underage users from holding accounts. Failure to take "reasonable steps" can result in fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$34 million).

Australia's eSafety regulator reported last month that tech platforms had already blocked 4.7 million acco...