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Australia's social media ban impacts millions, but teens are already finding ways around the restrictions. Are the risks of unregulated platforms worth the cost? Families impacted by online bullying celebrate the ban's arrival. #SocialMediaBan #OnlineSafety #TeenSafety #DigitalAge #Australia
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Australia's worldleading social media
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ban has officially begun. Our teenagers
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are now guinea pigs in a bold online
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experiment aimed at saving lives. But
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many are already getting around the
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restrictions.
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At the prime minister's official
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residence, the families whose kids have
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been killed by online bullying. The
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social media ban too late for all of
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them. But they celebrated its arrival
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today. Our kids that we've lost
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haven't died in vain.
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Digital D-Day. The prime minister
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calling it his proudest moment.
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This is world leading. This is Australia
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showing enough is enough.
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2 million Australian children officially
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kicked off social media.
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Things are not good over here.
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This is the end.
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Logging on to be told they were logged
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out. Messages like these sprayed
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Australiawide
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in theory.
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Instagram. I did the facial recognition
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and it said I was good to go.
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The net a wash with stories of kids
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who'd escaped the crackdown.
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YouTube is still operating.
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7 News has been tracking one group of
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students from Western Sydney Good
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Samaritan College. Has anybody not
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received a message yet?
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I checked this morning just to see and
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I'm still able to watch videos.
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Surprisingly, I still have access to my
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account. The experiences mixed. So were
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the emotions. You're now officially
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disconnected. How does that feel?
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I I'm really I'm upset. It was a real
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shock for me when I got the notification
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that it had signed me out.
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Some of my friends, they don't have a
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phone number. Some of them only can
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communicate using social media.
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One got access from an old account.
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That's pretty shocking that one account
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I can't at all and then the other
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account I have all the freedom in the
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world.
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The ban hits 10 of the most popular
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platforms. Kids under 16 banned facial
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recognition or government ID needed to
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verify their age. But while a generation
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of Australian school kids are grappling
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with these new laws, Apple today gave
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fresh insights into how many of them are
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really reacting. Mass downloads of ways
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to beat the ban. Apple's App Store data
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revealing the top four downloads today.
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All social media platforms not on the
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banned list.
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Download a VPN tonight. Fears of kids
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being pushed to darker, unregulated
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parts of the net.
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We're not expecting flawlessness. We've
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built in allowances for that.
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The world first move the center of
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worldwide attention.
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Other countries and doubtless many
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parents will be watching closely.
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From newscasts to Kylie.
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I think it's a healthy change. Yeah.
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For Wayne Holdsworth, it's for Mac.
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What do you think Mac could be thinking
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today?
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Well, he was on my shoulder when I was
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um presenting and he told me that he was
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proud
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and um I'm proud of him.
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Big techs, smallest victims. Chris
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Rezen, 7 News.
#Kids & Teens
#Teen Interests
#Violence & Abuse