Technology

The popular app has been included in the newly launched social media ban.
Technology
Rhianna Mitchell

Bad news for teens as popular new app Lemon8 banned

Lemon8, a hugely popular new social media app which Australian teens were turning to as an alternative to Instagram, is now banned for under 16s.

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Alternative communication apps for teens surge in the Australian charts as kids move from banned platforms
Technology
Max Corstorphan and Kimberley Braddish

The apps teens are already downloading to contact each other

Alternative social media platforms like Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar have soared up app store charts as young users shift away from banned apps such as TikTok and Snapchat.

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Australia’s social media ban will take effect on December 10.
Technology
Rhianna Mitchell

Parents’ guide to navigating new social media ban

Here are some top tips for parents navigating the social media ban for Australians under the age of 16.

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The social media ban brings with it a mountain of risk to public security, and won’t do much for kids either.
Opinion
Lorraine Finlay

Rushed social media ban’s hidden problem puts us in danger

LORRAINE FINLAY: If you think handing over your identification is risk-free, think again.

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Attention is sometimes an act. But it is first an instinct.
Opinion
The New York Times

Why you need to pay attention to how you pay attention

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Algorithmic media companies exploit the difference between our attentional instincts and aspirations. In so doing, they make it harder for us to become who we might wish to be.

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Scar Fischer, 11, and Belinda Fischer pictured at Kings Park, Perth, on Sunday ahead of Australia’s social media ban. Carwyn Monck
Technology
Caitlyn Rintoul

‘Withdrawal tantrums’ likely as social media ban bites

Parents have been warned to strap in for ‘dopamine withdrawal’ tantrums triggered by Australia’s social media ban.

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Australia is the world’s first democracy to ban its youth from popular social media services.
Australia
The New York Times

Teens sceptical ban will wean them off social media

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Australia is trying to keep children under 16 off the likes of TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram with a new law. The teenagers are sceptical.

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TikTok has offered unique ways for users to appeal wrongful account deactivations, including through a credit card authorisation that incurs a temporary charge. 
Technology
Caitlyn Rintoul

TikTok reveals how it will comply with looming ban

TikTok has urged young users to download their content just days out from Australia’s social media ban coming into effect on December 10. 

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Australians searching online for porn will soon see images appear differently as new eSafety rules come into force.
Australia
Kimberley Braddish

Update coming for Aussies who watch porn

Australians searching online for porn will soon see images appear differently as new eSafety rules come into force.

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Albanese’s social media ban is a perpetual game of whack-a-mole
Opinion
Mark Riley

Albo’s social media ban is a perpetual game of whack-a-mole

MARK RILEY: As new social media platforms pop up to side step the ban, we must keep sight of the reason this law was drafted.

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Children’s chats will move from social media to the place they’ve been happening all along - video games.
Opinion
James Birt

Why parents need to clock on for a shift of video gaming

JAMES BIRT: Australia’s new age-verification rules has caused understandable concern among families, but it will make kids online social world far more visible to adults who have never stepped inside it.

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Landline phones to help reduce screen time are booming.
Technology
CNBC

New phone craze as landline sales booming

Within hours hundreds of people said they needed the device.

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Minister for Communications Anika Wells at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Politics
Caitlyn Rintoul

Labor says under-16s ban to wage war against ‘dopamine drip’

Anika Wells says Australia’s impending social media ban will help teenagers break away from the ‘dopamine drip’ binding under-16s to their phones.

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Australians may be forced to provide official identification or banking details to big technology companies from next week.
Technology
Stephen Johnson

How the teenage social media ban may end internet anonymity

Australians may be forced to provide official identification or banking details to big technology companies from next week.

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Gemini 3 helped add $600 billion to Google’s value, but lacks common sense and struggles to explain complex technology.
analysis
Business
Aaron Patrick

Google’s successful AI chat bot is not as smart as it looks

Gemini 3 helped add $600 billion to Google’s value, but lacks common sense and struggles to explain complex technology.

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