Australian teenagers have taken to social media for the last time to farewell their followers and mourn the loss of the platforms that shaped much of their lives before a world-first ban took effect on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
In the hours leading up to the ban’s midnight start (1300 GMT on Tuesday), a flurry of goodbye messages came from teenagers – as well as adults – on platforms including TikTok, Instagram and Reddit.
Australia has ordered 10 major platforms including TikTok, YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook to block around one million users under the age of 16 or face massive fines.
Some 200,000 accounts have already been deactivated on TikTok alone, the government said, with “hundreds of thousands” to be blocked in the coming days.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hailed the new social media ban for children as a proud moment – and one he says will will go down in history as a great reform.
