French and Australian Youth Bans Remain Ineffective
August 2, 2026
As France and Australia enact blanket social media bans for minors backed by leaders like Emmanuel Macron, compliance audits and eSafety reports reveal that teens easily bypass the restrictions using alternative tools. Meanwhile, platform pushback from companies like X and ongoing data stonewalling from Meta, TikTok, and X highlight how algorithmic gatekeeping continues to frustrate both legislative mandates and independent academic research.
-
BRIEF
France becomes first EU country to officially ban social media for children
France will ban social media for under-15s from September 1, following the UK and Australia’s moves toward blanket bans.
- geopolitics
- structural power
-
BRIEF
French parliament passes social media ban for under-15s
President Emmanuel Macron, who has championed the initiative, wants the ban in effect before the upcoming school year.
- geopolitics
- structural power
-
BRIEF
More than 80% of kids still using social media despite ban, new eSafety report finds
As countries around the world look to follow Australia’s lead in restricting young people’s access to social media, a new report by the eSafety Commissioner might give them reason to pause, at least temporarily. Australia’s online watchdog found more than 80% of kids were still using an age-restrict…
- all
-
BRIEF
Meta-backed research finds exposure to ‘untrustworthy’ social media is rare. The fine print is less reassuring
Leon/Pexels How much of what you see on social media comes from sources that repeatedly post falsehoods? And if that content quietly vanished from your feed, would you believe anything different months later? A new study published today in Science Advances offers the most rigorous answers yet. It co…
- all
-
BRIEF
European researchers want to study social media’s harms but can’t get the data
EU law gives researchers unprecedented rights to scrutinize Big Tech. Researchers say Tik Tok, X, and Meta are still deciding who gets to look inside.
-
BRIEF
X Says Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Risks Interfering With Foreign Law
Elon Musk’s platform attacked the country’s “invasive” information-gathering powers as it demands the government drop efforts to strengthen its no-children policy.
-
BRIEF
Banning Social Media for Kids Is a Bad Idea
The risks are real. But banning children from the internet could create new problems without solving the ones that really matter.
-
BRIEF
Most Australian teens still online three months after under-16 ban
The Australian government has defended the ban after a report concluded most teenagers had found ways to get around it.
- geopolitics
- structural power
-
BRIEF
Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop
Simply reducing students' screen time at school will not prepare them for a world increasingly shaped by data and AI. Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision via Getty Images When the COVID-19 pandemic forced in-person classroom instruction to go virtual, students suddenly needed to have their own laptops or t…
- all