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China Welcomes Apple's Continued, Deeper Presence

Shen Xinyi (C), a student at Zhejiang University, introduces a "science and technology backyard" to Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) and chief operating officer Jeff Williams (R), at an organic farm in Shunyi District, Beijing, China, 22 October 2024 (issued 24 October 2024). EPA/XINHUA / Cai Yang
Shen Xinyi (C), a student at Zhejiang University, introduces a "science and technology backyard" to Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) and chief operating officer Jeff Williams (R), at an organic farm in Shunyi District, Beijing, China, 22 October 2024 (issued 24 October 2024). EPA/XINHUA / Cai Yang
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China Welcomes Apple's Continued, Deeper Presence

Shen Xinyi (C), a student at Zhejiang University, introduces a "science and technology backyard" to Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) and chief operating officer Jeff Williams (R), at an organic farm in Shunyi District, Beijing, China, 22 October 2024 (issued 24 October 2024). EPA/XINHUA / Cai Yang
Shen Xinyi (C), a student at Zhejiang University, introduces a "science and technology backyard" to Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) and chief operating officer Jeff Williams (R), at an organic farm in Shunyi District, Beijing, China, 22 October 2024 (issued 24 October 2024). EPA/XINHUA / Cai Yang

US tech giant Apple Inc is welcome to continue deepening its presence in the Chinese market, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told its Chief Executive Tim Cook during a meeting on Friday, the ministry said in a statement.
The remark mirrored the exchanges between China's Minister for Industry and Information Technology and Cook during a meeting earlier this week in Beijing.
China is willing to help return Sino-US economic and trade ties to a healthy and stable track of development through regular exchanges between government and enterprises, Wang added.
China will further optimize the business environment and continue to provide quality services for foreign enterprises, Wang said, but also told Cook that the highlighting of national security "is not conducive to normal economic and trade exchanges.”

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A Social Media Ban for Under-16s Passes the Australian Senate and Will Soon be a World-first Law

A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
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A Social Media Ban for Under-16s Passes the Australian Senate and Will Soon be a World-first Law

A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)

A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate Thursday and will soon become a world-first law.

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts, The AP reported.

The Senate passed the bill 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation 102 votes to 13.

The House has yet to endorse opposition amendments made in the Senate. But that is a formality since the government has already agreed they will pass.

The platforms will have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.

The amendments bolster privacy protections. Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents including passports or driver’s licenses, nor could they demand digital identification through a government system.

The House is scheduled to pass the amendments on Friday. Critics of the legislation fear that banning young children from social media will impact the privacy of users who must establish they are older than 16.

While the major parties support the ban, many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences.

Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minority Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.

“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.

Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary.

“The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.

“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.

Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online.”

“It’s too late for my daughter, Carly, and the many other children who have suffered terribly and those who have lost their lives in Australia, but let us stand together on their behalf and embrace this together,” she told the AP in an email.

Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, had advocated for the age restriction and took pride in its passage.

“I have always been a proud Australian, but for me subsequent to today’s Senate decision, I am bursting with pride,” Holdsworth told the AP in an email.