Social Media Apps

Govt had warned Big Tech of its plans, and first announced the ban after parliamentary inquiry earlier this year that heard testimony from parents of children who had self-harmed after cyber bullying

A number of other nations and US states have attempted to curb children's access to social media, with limited success

A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Parliament on Friday in a world-first law. The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. The Senate passed the bill on Thursday 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13. The House on Friday endorsed opposition amendments made in the Senate, making the bill law. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the law supported parents concerned by online harms to their children. Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them, Albanese told reporters. The platforms have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the

The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million)

The Australian Senate was debating a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media Thursday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to A$ 50 million (USD 33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. It is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament's final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months. The major parties' support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences. Unaligned Sen Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as undercooked. I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there

Australian parliament passes strict new rules: Social media platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars if they fail to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will not allow TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, to be banned

In submissions to the Senate inquiry, tech companies warned of unintended, negative consequences from the rapidly-drafted laws

An advocate for major social media platforms told an Australian Senate committee Monday that laws to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed until next year at least instead of being rushed through the Parliament this week. Sunita Bose, managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the digital industry in Australia including X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, was answering questions at a single-day Senate committee hearing into world-first legislation that was introduced into the Parliament last week. Bose said the Parliament should wait until the government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies is completed in June. Parliament is asked to pass a bill this week without knowing how it will work, Bose said. The legislation would impose fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. It seems likely to be passed by Parliament by Thur

Australia plans to try an age-verification system to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date

Australia's policy sets the highest age restriction on social media globally, surpassing France's recent ban on under-15s, which allowed exceptions with parental consent

Australia is following a number of other countries that have attempted to restrict access to social media for children, with mixed success

On Monday, CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta for abusing its dominant position

Over the past week, Bluesky's growth has exploded, more than doubling to 15 million-plus users as people seek alternatives to X, Facebook and Threads

The Jharkhand Police have registered FIRs against operators of two social media accounts for allegedly running campaigns to malign the image of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and that of the state, a senior officer said on Saturday. The FIRs were registered after Soren and the ruling JMM accused the BJP of running "shadow" campaigns to malign the CM's and the state's image. "Two FIRs have been registered for campaigns against the CM's and the state's image," a police officer said. Soren had alleged that the saffron camp has been "spending crores of money on various social media platforms" and "created 95,000 Whatsapp groups" to campaign against the JMM-led coalition in the state. We have lodged two complaints against social media platforms for shadow campaigns at Gonda and Ratu police stations in Ranchi, JMM spokesperson Vinod Pandey told PTI. The JMM had also taken up the matter with the Election Commission. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar told PTI that the commission has take

Australia introduces new age limits on social media to protect youth mental health, holding platforms accountable for underage access, as part of broader tech regulations

Canada announced Wednesday it is ordering the dissolution of TikTok's Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media app but said it won't block access. Industry Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said. Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information. He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. TikTok Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but

TikTok could not immediately be reached for comment on the allegations

The draft law, being discussed in parliament, is also designed to ease authorities' access to information

Accounts, which rely on publicly available information to track a jet's location and CO2 emissions, among other details, were banned without warning this week after Meta updated its privacy policy