#social-media-ban

#social-media-ban

Reddit is suing the Australian government over its newly enacted social media ban, which prevents children aged 16 and younger from accessing most social media platforms. Reddit argued that the ban impinges on the right to free political discourse implied by the country's constitution, according to a Reuters report. In essence, blocking the youths from Reddit would block their freedom of speech, the company said. Reddit also argued that it was not, primarily speaking, a social media site, but rather a place for exchanging information and ideas.

It was the latest move in a growing global effort to protect young people fromthe harmful effects of social media. A group of American senators is hoping the US will do the same. "Australia is stepping up to protect kids from the addictive and harmful content being constantly fed to them on social media. It's now time for Congress to do the same and pass the Kids Off Social Media Act," Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a Democrat, said in a statement to Business Insider.

The case argues that the law contravenes the implied freedom of political communication. A law that has the effect of reducing the overall volume of political communication in Australia will be invalid unless it is proportionate to a legitimate purpose. This rule comes from the Australian constitution's requirement that parliamentarians be chosen by the people and the need for freedom to communicate about political matters for that choice to be meaningful.

I'm blaming Santa. As 2025 reaches its inevitable endgame, I can't help thinking we have all become gullible children enthralled by the promise of tech cornucopia, refusing to see the folds in our logic because deep down we don't want to break the magic. While the federal government prepares to take the toys off the children with its world-first social media ban, it is hanging out the stockings for the self-same tech overlords to fill with new goodies via its light-touch National AI Plan.

On this week's podcast: How Australia will ban under-16s from social media Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg Never miss an episode. Follow The Bloomberg Australia Podcast today. From next week, Australia's under-16s will be prevented from accessing platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, as the Labor government pushes to curb harms caused by social media. In our latest podcast, Rebecca Jones asks Bloomberg's Angus Whitley

When Matt Ross took the Nepal national football team job earlier this year, he knew there would be tough times ahead. Nepal's mountainous terrain draws millions of tourists each year, but it has also made sporting progress difficult. Hamstrung by its terrain, football pitches are so scarce that the main national competition the Nepal Super League must be played over one month at a single venue: the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

Last week, Nepal's government ordered authorities to block 26 social media platforms for not complying with a deadline to register with Nepal's ministry of communication and information technology. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have millions of users in Nepal, who rely on them for entertainment, news and business. But the government had justified its ban, implemented last week, in the name of tackling fake news, hate speech and online fraud.