SYDNEY: Australia banned young teenagers from social media on Wednesday, launching a world-first crackdown designed to unglue children from addictive scrolling on the likes of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.&nbsp;A raft of the world&#39;s most popular apps and websites face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.&nbsp;Australia becomes one of the first nations to so forcefully push back against tech titans wielding immense political power.&nbsp;The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from &quot;predatory algorithms&quot; filling phone screens with bullying, sex and violence.&nbsp;&quot;Too often, social media isn&#39;t social at all,&quot; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the ban.&nbsp;&quot;Instead, it&#39;s used as a weapon for bullies, a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.&quot;&nbsp;The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia.&nbsp;Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will wake up to find themselves locked out of apps they once scrolled for hours each day.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t think the government really knows what they&#39;re doing and I don&#39;t think it&#39;s going to have any impact on children of Australia,&quot; said 15-year-old Layton Lewis ahead of the ban.&nbsp;BlacklistedFacebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit are forbidden from creating or keeping accounts belonging to users in Australia under 16.&nbsp;Streaming platforms Kick and Twitch are also on the government&#39;s blacklist, as are message boards Threads and X.&nbsp;The ban is a godsend for parents sick of seeing children stuck to their phones.&nbsp;Mia Bannister blamed social media for the suicide of her teenage son Ollie, who killed himself last year after he was bullied online.&nbsp;He was also being served endless dieting videos that fuelled an eating disorder, she said.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m sick of the social media giants shirking responsibility,&quot; she told AFP in the lead up to the ban.&nbsp;&quot;The problem is we hand them a phone, and we hand them the greatest weapon we could hand them.&quot;&nbsp;A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen wellbeing.&nbsp;But it is hard to draw firm conclusions that separate phone use from other lifestyle factors.&nbsp;Father-of-five Dany Elachi said the restrictions were a long-overdue &quot;line in the sand&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;We need to err on the side of caution before putting anything addictive in the hands of children,&quot; he told AFP.&nbsp;Really distractedTech-savvy teenagers the world over have already taken an interest in Australia&#39;s ban.&nbsp;&quot;Students nowadays, they are really distracted,&quot; said Nigerian high-schooler Mitchelle Okinedo, 15.&nbsp;&quot;Social media today is very important for expressing yourself, no matter how old you are,&quot; said Santiago Ramirez Rojas, 16, from Mexico City.&nbsp;Meta, YouTube and other social media giants have lined up to condemn the ban, which robs their platforms of masses of dedicated users.&nbsp;While most have begrudgingly agreed to comply, for now, legal challenges are in the wind.&nbsp;Online discussion site Reddit said Tuesday it could not confirm local media reports that said it would seek to overturn the ban in Australia&#39;s High Court.&nbsp;An Australian internet rights group has already launched its own bid to have teenagers re-instated to social media.

Artificial Intelligence

Australia has banned under-16s from using major social media platforms, enforcing strict age checks and heavy fines to protect children from harmful content. Tech giants object, while parents welcome the move and legal challenges are expected. 

Australia bans under-16s from social media in world-first crackdown

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won&#39;t be able to change their settings without a parent&#39;s permission, Meta announced on Tuesday.&nbsp;This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie &mdash; no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others.&nbsp;&ldquo;This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia,&rdquo; Meta said in a blog post Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year.&nbsp;The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children.&nbsp;The changes come as the social media giant faces relentless criticism over harms to children. As it seeks to add safeguards for teens, Meta has already promised it wouldn&rsquo;t show inappropriate content to teens, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders or suicide.&nbsp;But this does not always work. A recent report, for instance, found that teen accounts researchers created were recommended age-inappropriate sexual content, including &ldquo;graphic sexual descriptions, the use of cartoons to describe demeaning sexual acts, and brief displays of nudity.&rdquo;&nbsp;In addition, Instagram also recommended a &ldquo;range of self-harm, self-injury, and body image content&rdquo; on teen accounts that the report says &ldquo;would be reasonably likely to result in adverse impacts for young people, including teenagers experiencing poor mental health, or self-harm and suicidal ideation and behaviors.&rdquo;&nbsp;Meta says the new restrictions go further than its previous safeguards. Teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share &ldquo;age-inappropriate content&rdquo; or if their name or bio contains something that isn&#39;t appropriate for teens, such as a link to an OnlyFans account.&nbsp;If teens already follow these accounts, they&rsquo;ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them messages, or see their comments under anyone&rsquo;s posts, the company said. The accounts also won&rsquo;t be able to follow teens, send them private messages or comment on their posts.&nbsp;Meta said it already blocks certain search terms related to sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders, but the latest update will expand this to a broader range of terms, such as &ldquo;alcohol&rdquo; or &ldquo;gore&rdquo; &mdash; even if they are misspelled.&nbsp;The PG-13 update will also apply artificial intelligence chats and experiences targeted to teens, Meta said, &ldquo;meaning AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie.&rdquo;&nbsp;For parents who want an even stricter setting for their kids, Meta is also launching a &ldquo;limited content&rdquo; restriction that will block more content and remove teens&rsquo; ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts.

Meta announced new safeguards on Instagram, restricting teens to PG-13 content by default. Teens will need parental approval to change settings, as the platform aims to curb exposure to sex, drugs, and harmful behaviors.

Instagram says it's safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content

Syed Maisam Ali

ISLAMABAD: Meta has rolled out Instagram Map in Pakistan, introducing an immersive way for users to discover stories, reels, posts, and notes tagged to local spots. From bustling caf&eacute;s to concerts, all while keeping privacy controls firmly in place. The new feature helps people &ldquo;find what friends and favorite creators are sharing from local hangouts,&rdquo; according to a statement via Media Matter, the PR agency representing Meta in Pakistan, on Saturday. Importantly, location sharing is turned off by default, with users able to share their last active location only with selected friends, close friends, or no one at all. A clear indicator at the top of the map shows when location sharing is active, while reminders appear when adding tags. Meta has also refined the Instagram Map experience by removing profile photos from map content, making it clearer when location is off, and adding preview options for tagged posts. Parents, too, are given tools to supervise teens, ensuring safer sharing practices.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/d85c92fa-07cd-44c7-85b7-6460d74dab2c-PR Image 2 (1).png" alt="PR Image 2 (1).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> The launch comes at a time when Pakistan has become one of Meta&rsquo;s fastest-growing markets.&nbsp; Facebook currently reaches an estimated 49 million users across the country, while Instagram has around 19 million active users, making it a key platform for both youth culture and emerging digital businesses, according to the DataReportal&rsquo;s Digital 2025: Pakistan report. WhatsApp, however, remains the undisputed leader: the messaging app is used by over 52 million Pakistanis, reflecting its dominance as the country&rsquo;s primary tool for communication. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/937963de-49a2-47b1-bd58-751d7d11faab-PR Image 1 (1).png" alt="PR Image 1 (1).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> These numbers highlight not just Meta&rsquo;s deep penetration in Pakistan&rsquo;s digital ecosystem but also the enormous potential for features like Instagram Map, which blend social discovery with real-world connections.

Nearly 19 million Pakistanis use Instagram, making it one of Meta’s fastest-growing platforms in the country. To deepen engagement, Meta has launched Instagram Map, helping users explore location-tagged content with strict privacy protections.

Articles tagged with "Instagram"

Australia bans under-16s from social media in world-first crackdown

Instagram says it's safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content

Instagram Map debuts in Pakistan, connecting 19M users to local moments