Australia banned under-16s from social media in a world-first crackdown on Wednesday, declaring it was time to ¡°take back control¡± from formidable tech giants.
A raft of popular apps and websites ¡ª Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X among them ¡ª face fines of 49.5 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.
Australia becomes one of the first nations to push back so forcefully against tech companies with immense political power, in a move other countries are looking at closely.
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