&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Australian teens defy under-16 social media bans by using dog pictures. So, how 'safe' are they?")
Australia on Tuesday (Dec 9) became the world leader in cracking down on social media use by children under-16 with a ban that restricts their use of platforms like Meta's Facebook, X, and TikTok. Now, Tech companies that fail to purge teens from their platforms face a whopping US$33 million fines. However, while hundreds of thousands of teens have reported that they were logged out of their social accounts under the ban, others are bragging that they were still online. How? Some have lied during a platform's age verification process, and in one case, they bypassed the ban by using the picture of a golden retriever dog.
Also read | Australia bans under-16s from social media, but YouTube warns it could make them less safe. Here's how
What? Can a dog picture bypass Australia's social media ban?
According to a Washington Post report, a group of teenagers in Australia found more than one way to fool the nation's new age-verification system. In one case, they used a photo of a golden retriever dog they found on Google. "It worked," the teen, identified as 16-year-old Mariska Adams, told the publication.
Other ways teens are rebelling against the ban
According to reports, others have taken to hiring adults to help them bypass the age verification, while some have just taken to using their parents' profiles, in many cases with their consent.
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Tech giants say the ban makes the internet unsafe
The government has already conceded that the law "won't be perfect", but argues it is a step in the right direction. However, tech giants like Meta say that the social media ban actually makes the internet unsafe for children. On Wednesday, Meta said that the ban was already pushing teens towards less regulated chat and image-sharing apps like Lemon8 and yope. These apps are currently not listed in Australia's social media ban, reports AFP.
"We've consistently raised concerns that this poorly developed law could push teens to less regulated platforms or apps. We're now seeing those concerns become reality," Meta said in a statement. The US-based company pointed out that these alternative apps do not have safety features like specialised teen accounts. "While we'll meet our legal obligations, we remain concerned this law will make teens less safe."
