Australia extends social media ban to children under 16, adds YouTube
The Australian government has announced that it will ban children under 16 from creating YouTube accounts from 10 December 2025, expanding a policy already in place on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. The decision comes after the Internet Safety Authority requested that YouTube be added to the blacklist, citing evidence that children are encountering harmful content there - 37% of children who have encountered harmful content said they saw it on YouTube.
Australia extends social media ban to children under 16. (Illustration photo)
Although YouTube has protested, arguing that it is a video- sharing platform and not a social network, the government has insisted that its goal is to protect young people from online dangers.
Australia is the first country to impose a comprehensive ban on children under 16 across multiple platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and X, starting on December 10, 20252.
Meta, Microsoft report revenue above expectations
Meta reported second-quarter 2025 results that beat market expectations, with revenue of $47.52 billion and net income up 36% to $18.34 billion, driven largely by improvements to its artificial intelligence-powered advertising system. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion, above analysts' estimates.
Reality Labs still lost $4.53 billion, but the results were better than expected. Meta is also ramping up its AI investments, including a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs, which aims to develop “personal superintelligence” for creativity and community connection.
Meta Achieves Continuous Revenue Growth Thanks to AI. (Source: Meta)
Microsoft also beat expectations, with quarterly revenue of $76.44 billion (up 18% year-over-year) and net income rising to $27.23 billion. Azure, its cloud computing platform, reported revenue growth of 34% for the first time. Its Office and LinkedIn software divisions also saw strong growth. Its Copilot AI (intelligent virtual assistant) product reached 100 million monthly users and boosted commercial revenue.
TikTok increases parental controls for children
TikTok has just launched a series of new features to help parents better control their children's use of the app. The upgraded Family Pairing tool allows parents to receive notifications when their children post public content, check privacy settings, and hide unwanted accounts from their children's feeds. In Europe, parents can also block their children from seeing specific accounts.
TikTok notifications limit usage time. (Source: TikTok)
Additionally, TikTok introduced a new “digital wellness” module with tasks to help users build healthy online habits, such as limiting screen time and learning about mental health tools.
Creator Care Mode will automatically block harmful comments, while livestreams can filter words and emojis in real time. TikTok is also testing a Footnotes feature in the US, which allows users to add sources and context under videos to combat misinformation.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cong-nghe-31-7-uc-mo-rong-lenh-cam-mang-xa-hoi-cho-tre-em-duoi-16-tuoi-ar957146.html
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