As New Zealand plans a social media ban for teens, is Australia's one actually working?

Caption:New Zealand is considering a ban on social media for youth under 16.Photo credit:RNZPrime Minister Luxon supports a ban on youth using social media.RNZ/Samuel RillstoneAustralia’s ban has relied on social media platforms to check ages.Samuel Boivin / NurPhoto via AFPAustralian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to increase fines for social media platforms.AFP / DAVID GRAYSocial media bans should take a longer-term generational view, one academic wrote.Unsplash / Andrey K

Composite of social media apps and teenager with phone

Ann Widdecombe was a junior minister in John Major’s Conservative government from 1992 to 1997, and latterly as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK, before she was found dead at her home in southwest England on Thursday 9 July 2026.

View of the United States Embassy in Havana on May 20, 2021.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2026. The bill provides around $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $26 billion for Border Patrol and another $5 billion for unforeseen costs, effectively ensuring a steady flow of money for Trump’s deportation agenda through fiscal 2029.

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Will Jordan is all smiles after becoming the All Blacks all-time leading try scorer.

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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JULY 11: Bilateral Meeting with Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Government House on July 11, 2026 in Auckland, New Zealand. Prime Minister Modi is making his first official visit to Auckland after the signing of a free trade agreement with New Zealand. Herald photograph by Dean Purcell