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Teens in Australia banned from social media

Social Media - Level 0

Children under 16 in Australia cannot use social media sites. They cannot open accounts with famous sites like TikTok. Social media companies must make sure all users are 16 or above. Australia will fine them if children access the sites. The companies will check the age of their users. All new users must scan their faces.

Australia's leader said social media harms young minds. He told children to start a new sport or learn a musical instrument. He said they should spend time with family and friends. Children aged 10-15 look at harmful information on eating disorders and suicide. Some children say they will be lonely without social media.

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Social Media - Level 1

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.

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Social Media - Level 2

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There is a big change online. Australia has banned children under 16 from using many social media sites. New laws say the under-16s cannot open accounts with famous sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. It is the responsibility of these companies to make sure their users are aged 16 or above. Australia said it would fine companies if they allowed children to access their sites. The fines are up to $33 million. The companies said they would use different methods to check the age of their users. New users will have to upload identification and scan their faces.

Australia's Prime Minister said social media is harming young minds. A study showed that 70 per cent of children aged 10-15 who used social media looked at harmful content. This included information about violence, eating disorders, and suicide. He told children to do different things, like starting a new sport or learning to play a musical instrument. He told children to "spend quality time" with family and friends, "face to face". Many children said they would be lonelier without social media. Two 15-year-olds are suing the government for taking away their "right to free communication".

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Social Media - Level 3

A big change has happened in the social media world. Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from joining many social networks. New laws say the under-16s cannot open accounts with sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube. It is now the responsibility of these social media sites to make sure all of their users are aged 16 or above. Australia's government said it would fine the companies if they allowed children to access their sites. The fines could be as much as $32.9 million. The companies said they would use different methods to check the age of their users. New users will have to upload identification and scan their faces.

Australia's Prime Minister said he introduced the ban because social media was harming young minds. He said a study showed that 70 per cent of children aged 10-15 who used social media looked at harmful content. This included information about misogyny, violence, eating disorders, and suicide. He advised children to do different things instead, like starting a new sport or learning to play a musical instrument. His message to children was: "Spend quality time with your friends and your family, face to face." Many children said they would now be lonelier without social media. Two 15-year-olds are suing Australia's government. They say their "right to free communication" has been taken away.

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