Alternative social media apps surge as Australia teen ban starts
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Australia banned young teenagers from social media, launching a world-first crackdown.
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SYDNEY – Alternative social media platforms have surged in popularity in Australia on Dec 10, as the nation’s landmark ban for under-16s
Lemon8, a video and photo sharing app powered by TikTok, is currently the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s App Store.
It’s followed by Yope, a private friends-only photo sharing app, and Coverstar – a platform that dubs itself as “the safest alternative to TikTok” for kids aged 9-16.
The social media ban, which kicked in on Dec 10, requires technology giants such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Meta Platforms’s Instagram, to restrict under-16s from having social accounts or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (S$42.6 million).
It makes Australia the world’s first democracy to implement such a crackdown in an effort to curb the concerns about social media’s harms. Bloomberg
