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Australia has blocked nearly 5 million social media accounts belonging to people under 16

Jan 17, 2026

Sydney [Australia], January 17: Australian authorities have noted initial positive results after one month of enforcing a law banning children under 16 from using social media.
According to The Guardian's report on January 15th, social media companies have disabled, removed, and restricted approximately 4.7 million accounts. This is the first data released by the Australian government regarding the level of compliance with the new law.
Australia's aforementioned social media age control law does not impose penalties on children or parents, but places all responsibility on the companies operating the platforms. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on January 15th welcomed the companies' efforts to comply with the law.
Australia was the first country in the world to enact a comprehensive ban on social media for children under 16, pioneering similar regulations that many other countries are now researching and implementing.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper

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Star Health settles over ₹780 crore in cancer claims in H1 FY27; highlights women's treatment and financial protection needs

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