Hugo Winwood-Smith, left, Hardy Macpherson and Edan Abou, right, all 11 years old, use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
WORLD NEWS
Social media ban for children under 16 starts in Australia
A groundbreaking social media ban for children under 16 has taken effect in Australia as families aim to take back power from tech giants. Australia’s prime minister acknowledged the challenges of implementation but emphasised the importance of protecting children. Read more.
What to know:
Many children posted farewell messages, while parents reported distraught children discovering they’d been shut out of platforms as the landmark law took effect. Some young children reported fooling the platforms’ age estimation technology by drawing on facial hair. Parents and older siblings are also expected to help some children circumvent the restrictions.
Social platforms will face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) starting Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will miss Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
What to know:
“We are optimistic about her presence on the rest of the day’s agenda,” said Machado’s spokesperson. She did not give information on Machado’s current location.
The ceremony is happening amid news that the U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday in what appears to be the closest American warplanes have come to the country’s airspace since the start of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Machado won an opposition primary election and intended to challenge Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office. Her win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela was announced on Oct. 10, and she was described as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”
