Social media ban for children under 16 starts in Australia
Melbourne(Australia) (AP): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a world-first social media ban for children younger than 16 that took effect Wednesday as families taking back power from tech giants but warned the implementation would be difficult.
Parents reported distraught children discovering they'd been shut out of platforms as the landmark law took effect. Some young children reported fooling the platforms' age estimation technology by drawing on facial hair. Parents and older siblings are also expected to help some children circumvent the restrictions.
“This is the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies and they're asserting the right of kids to be kids and for parents to have greater peace of mind,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
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“This reform will change lives. For Australian kids ... allowing them to just have their childhood. For Australian parents, enabling them to have greater peace of mind. But also for the global community, who are looking at Australia and saying: well, if Australia can do it, why can't we?” Albanese later told a Sydney gathering of reform supporters, including parents who blame social media for a child's suicide.
Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (USD 32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Australia to report by Christmas if social media ban is working
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The ban will be enforced by Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. She said the platforms already had the technology and personal data about their users to enforce the age restriction with precision.
She would send the 10 targeted platforms on Thursday notices demanding information on how the age restriction was being implemented and how many accounts had been closed.
“We will provide information to the public before Christmas on how these age restrictions are being implemented and whether preliminarily we see them working,” Inman Grant said.
“The responses to these notices will form the baseline against which we will measure compliance,” she added.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the age-restricted platforms “may not agree with the law and that's their right — we don't expect 100 per cent universal support," but that all had undertaken to comply with the Australian law. She said more than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia had already been deactivated by Wednesday.
Wells also warned young children who had so far evaded detection that they would eventually be caught. A child who used a virtual private network to appear to be in Norway would be caught out if they were routinely posting images of Australian beaches, Wells said.
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“Just because they might have avoided it (detection) today doesn't mean they will be able to avoid it in a week's time or a month's time because social media platforms have to go back and routinely check under-16 accounts,” Wells said.
“These social media platforms have so much data on us because we choose to give it to them because we like social media and because you've had your older brother scan their face for you today, which has bought you a bit of time, doesn't mean that these accounts aren't going to see you talking to other 14-year-olds tonight about the under-16 soccer carnival on weekend, about your upcoming school holidays and what your Year 10 teacher is next year,” she added.
Albanese said the implementation would be difficult and “won't be perfect.”
“This is about, importantly, pushing back against big tech, saying that social media companies have a social responsibility,” he said.
Father of sextortion scam victim says social media ban is a start
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Wayne Holdsworth, who became an age restriction advocate because his son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, described the new law as a start. Children must now be educated about online dangers before they turn 16.
“Our kids that we've lost haven't died in vain because today they'll be looking down very proud of the work that we've all done,” Holdsworth told the Sydney gathering.
Flossie Brodribb, a 12-year-old advocate for a social media ban for young children, told the gathering she hoped other countries would follow Australia's lead.
“This ban is bold and brave and I believe it will help kids like me to grow up healthier, safer, kinder and more connected to the real world,” Flossie said.
Simone Clements said the social media ban would come at a financial cost to her 15-year-old twins Carlee and Hayden Clements. Carlee is an actor, model, dancer, singer and influencer. Her brother is an actor and model.
“I know that our situation is unique to our family because the kids are in the entertainment industry and social media goes hand-in-hand with the entertainment industry. We have used social media in the most positive way. And it's a platform for them to basically show their portfolio, and … this is an income stream for the children,” the mother told ABC.
Clements said the biggest impact on her children would be the loss of their young followers online.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
