Australia’s youth social media ban came into effect, with governments and Big Tech watching its effects closely.
Social media platforms, with X’s exception, said Tuesday they will remove all accounts held by under-16s. The ban is popular — backed by two-thirds of voters — but the age-recognition software hasn’t always worked, and angry kids plan to skirt it. The prime minister, however, argued that teens finding a way to drink doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a legal drinking age.
A regulator called the ban the world’s “first domino”: Denmark, Malaysia, and Norway could soon follow suit, and the EU passed a resolution adopting similar restrictions, worrying tech firms. An industry group said such “blanket censorship” will make children less safe.
