In brief
In a world-first initiative, Australia has implemented a ban preventing children under 16 from using social media platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. While this decision has been welcomed by many parents and mental health advocates, critics argue that it may negatively impact youth connectivity and social skills. The rollout of this law marks Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's effort to safeguard minors, though questions about its effectiveness and children's ability to bypass restrictions remain.
Australia's world-first social media ban for children has taken effect, with throngs of teenagers waking up to find their accounts have gone dark.
Others tell BBC they have already snuck past barriers and will continue scrolling and posting freely until they are caught.
The new law means social media firms - including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube - must take reasonable steps to ensure Australians aged under 16 don't hold accounts on their platforms.
The ban, eyed with excitement by global leaders and trepidation by tech companies, was justified as necessary to protect children from harmful content and algorithms - though critics have argued blanket prohibition is neither practical nor wise.
This landmark policy has been one of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's pet projects, and speaking to the media on Wednesday he said he believed it has the power to change lives around the world.
This is a day in which my pride to be prime minister of Australia has never been greater, he said, flanked by parents and media figures who had pushed for the ban.
Various governments, from the US state of Florida to the European Union, have been experimenting with limiting children's use of social media. But, along with a higher age limit of 16, Australia is the first jurisdiction to deny an exemption for parental approval in a policy like this - making its laws the world's strictest.
The Australian government has named 10 social media platforms as a start, including all of the most popular ones, but has also warned others it's coming for them next.
Online safety regulator Julie Inman Grant said her agency will start checking compliance from Thursday. Parents and children won't be liable under this law, only social media firms, which face fines of up to A$49.5m ($33m, £24.5m) for serious breaches.
Polling shows the ban is wildly popular with parents, who hope it will also help reduce cyberbullying and child exploitation. But it is far less popular with children.
Experts are also worried kids are going to circumvent the ban with relative ease - either by tricking the technology that's performing the age checks, or by finding other, potentially less safe, places on the net to gather.
Many critics have been advocating instead for better education and more moderation. While the government has insisted the social media companies have the money and the technology to make this ban happen, it has also sought to manage expectations.
Ms. Inman Grant said Australia is playing the long game, and while stories of kids getting round the ban will make headlines, regulators will not be deterred. She stated, The world will follow, like nations once followed our lead on plane tobacco packaging, gun reform, water, and sun safety.
