Australia's world-first social media ban begins as millions of children and teens lose access to accounts

"Australia has enacted a world-first ban on social media for users aged under 16, causing millions of children and teenagers to lose access to their accounts. Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and TikTok are expected to have taken steps from Wednesday to remove accounts held by users under 16 years of age in Australia, and prevent those teens from registering new accounts."

"Platforms that do not comply risk fines of up to $49.5m. There have been some teething problems with the ban's implementation. Guardian Australia has received several reports of those under 16 passing the facial age assurance tests, but the government has flagged it is not expecting the ban will be perfect from day one. All listed platforms apart from X had confirmed by Tuesday they would comply with the ban."

Australia implemented a ban preventing users under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, requiring platforms to remove existing under-16 accounts and block new registrations. Noncompliant platforms face fines up to $49.5 million. Early implementation revealed problems with facial age-assurance checks and reports of some under-16s passing verification. Most listed platforms confirmed compliance by the deadline, while the eSafety commissioner engaged with platforms still clarifying policies. Some smaller platforms assessed as low risk also adopted bans. Age-assurance services conducted hundreds of thousands of checks. Parents reported mixed reactions, including distress among teens excluded from peers.

Read at www.theguardian.com