Australia has banned children from using social media sites. New laws say the under-16s cannot open accounts with famous sites like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Social media companies must make sure their users are 16 or above. Australia will fine them up to $33 million if children access the sites. The companies will use different methods to check the age of their users. New users must upload identification and scan their faces.
Australia's Prime Minister said social media is harming young minds. Most children aged 10-15 who used social media looked at harmful content. This included information on eating disorders and suicide. He told children to start a new sport or learn to play a musical instrument. He said they should spend quality "face-to-face" time with family and friends. Many children will be lonelier without social media. Some say their "right to free communication" has gone.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Social Media - Level 0, Social Media - Level 2 or Social Media - Level 3
Sources- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-09/remote-kids-social-ban-isolation/106114026
- https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/australia-social-media-ban-set-take-effect-sparking-global-crackdown-2025-12-09/
- https://fortune.com/2025/12/09/australia-will-start-banning-kids-from-social-media-this-week-and-malaysia-is-getting-ready-to-do-the-same/
Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)