Meta begins blocking under-16s ahead of Australia’s social media ban

Australia is set to become the first country in the world to enforce a law requiring major social media platforms to block users under 16. Meta has begun preparing to restrict under-16 users ahead of the law, which takes effect on December 10. Ten major platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, must comply or face fines of 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32m). The ban is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of teens; Instagram alone reports about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15. Some platforms such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are exempt for now, though the list is still…

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