Australia
13 briefs
Australia's Teen Social Media Ban Is Five Months Old. 61% of Affected Kids Still Have Accounts.
Meta's AI enforcement tools are a compliance performance, not a solution. The gap between the ban's ambition and its mechanics is now evidence.
Norway, Indonesia, and Australia Are Banning Social Media for Under-16s. Meta Is Threatening to Leave States That Try It.
A global wave of age restriction laws is converging on the same question New Mexico is testing in court: can a government force a platform to redesign itself, or does it have to accept the platform leaving instead?
The Tax That Has No Escape Hatch
Australia's new news levy charges Google, Meta, and TikTok for journalism whether they carry it or not. Meta already tried removing news to avoid paying. This time, that does not work.
The Enforcement Problem No One Wants to Name
The UK, Norway, and Manitoba all committed to restricting social media for under-16s this week. Australia, which did it first in December, has found that 70% of affected children still have access.
The Social Media Ban Experiment Is Failing in Real Time
Australia's under-16 ban is four months old and 60% of teens are still online. The UK Lords vote today on whether to delay action three more years. Manitoba is planning a ban anyway. Everyone is watching the data and ignoring it.
The World Is Copying Australia's Teen Social Media Ban. Australia's Is Already Failing.
Four months after Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s, 61% of affected teens are still on the platforms, and Turkey, Norway, Manitoba, and a dozen US states are lining up to enact the same policy.
Governments Are Banning Teens From Social Media. The Evidence Says It Won't Work.
Australia's under-16 ban, Canada's Liberal resolution, Missouri's new law, Indonesia's crackdown. A global wave of social media age restrictions is building. Every expert says enforcement will fail.
The Social Media Ban That Already Failed
Australia's under-16 ban went global this week as governments launched an EU age-verification app, a world leaders summit, and Australian legal threats. The app was hacked in two minutes.
The Ban That Made VPNs Mandatory
Australia banned social media for under-16s in December. Four months later, 61% of affected teens still have access. Now the UK and US are considering the same approach.
Five Countries, One Law They Cannot Write
Canada, Australia, the EU, and multiple US states are all trying to ban social media for minors. None of them know how to enforce it.
The Ban That Moves Children Underground
Australia's under-16 social media ban has failed: two-thirds of affected teens are still on banned platforms. The UK and Massachusetts are about to copy the same approach.
The Under-16 Consensus
The US House, Canada's Liberal Party, Australia's eSafety regulator, and Massachusetts have all moved this week to restrict or ban children's social media use. The policy idea has gone global. The implementation gap is enormous.
The Law That Teenagers Broke in a Week
Australia's under-16 social media ban has been in force for four months. The regulator says platforms are failing. A 15-year-old named Noah is fighting it in court. Both things can be true.