Name: Australia teen social media ban: BBC Learning English from the News
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Duration: 7 min 36 s
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This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines in this program, Social Media banned for kids in Australia.

In this program, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com so, Phil, let's hear more about this story.

Children under the age of 16 in Australia are no longer allowed to have social media accounts by law.

Some of the platforms included in the ban are TikTok X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads.

The Australian government says the ban will reduce the negative impact of features that encourage children to spend time on screens potentially being exposed to harmful content.

But critics of the ban say that children will not get the social contact they need and might be tempted to search in darker parts of the Internet.

This one is from the Observer, a newspaper in the uk Australia's Social media ban comes into force.

And that headline again from the Observer, a British newspaper.

Australia's social media ban comes into force.

So this headline describes the start of the new law and the expression we're looking at is comes into force.

Phil, what do we mean when we say that something comes into force?

When we say something comes into force, we mean that it starts to happen.

This new law was planned and now it has become a law.

Okay, so what else can you tell us about this expression?

It's true that it's used to describe new laws starting, but

it's about rules, systems and ways of doing things as well.

So, for example, we can say that a new IT policy at work has come into force and there's a similar expression, isn't there, Georgie?

We can also say that something has come into effect and it means the same thing.

So a new social media ban for kids has come into effect in Australia.

For example, people's health has improved since the smoking ban came into force.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about social media platforms being banned for under 16s in Australia.

The Australian government has specified a list of platforms included in the ban, but

the government have made it clear that the law might be extended to other companies, depending on the harm caused.

This one comes from nine News on Australian news site.

Here are the platforms that will be included in the under 16's social media band.

That headline again from nine News, an Australian news site.

Here are the platforms that will be included in the under 16 social media ban.

So this article looks at the apps which are now banned for children in Australia and we're looking at the word caveat.

A caveat is like a warning about the limits of a situation.

So at the moment, the Australian law doesn't include all social media and gaming sites that children spend time on.

But the caveat is that the law could extend to more platforms in the future.

So the warning to those companies or people using the platforms is that they should be prepared in case that happens.

Caveat is often used in official situations, in legal context or the work of government, but

it's also quite common in everyday language.

So for example, if I'm presenting to you a project I've been working on and I want your feedback, I might give you some caveats, like it's not completely finished or I haven't added the music to this audio yet, just to warn you that it's not yet the finished product.

Well, my caveat before giving my children pocket money is that it can't be spent on sweets.

So you can caveat something, can't you, Phil?

So your boss might say it's fine to go home early, but

I'm going to caveat that by saying you need to have got all the work finished first.

We've had caveat warning about the limits of a situation.

For example, it's a work trip, so they'll pay for my flight.

But the caveat is that it has to be the cheapest one.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about Australia's social media ban for children under 16.

Some teenagers say that they still have access to their accounts since the ban has come into effect.

The person in charge of Internet safety in Australia has said that the law would have teething issues, meaning problems that you have when you're getting used to something new.

Okay, this one is from Business World, a news organisation based in the Philippines.

Australia leader defends Social Media Ban as teens Brag about staying online.

And that headline again from Business World, a Business news site based in the Philippines.

Australia Leader defends Social Media Ban as Teens brag about Staying Online so this headline is about the Australian Prime Minister defending the new law against criticism.

Why are teens bragging about staying online?

Well, the verb brag means you talk about something you have or that you've achieved, but

It's about saying it in a way that other people don't like.

So if some teens still have access to Snapchat or Instagram, for example, and

they say to those who don't have access, haha, I've still got Snapchat and Instagram, that's bragging.

Yeah, and the politicians who've made the law might also not like it.

If one team wins by many points and they brag about their victory to the losing team.

The losing team probably won't like that.

Or if I've got a few days off work and you haven't and I come in and say I've got time off and you have to come in and work.

We've had brag speak with too much pride about something you have or have achieved.

For example, if you brag too much about coming top of the class, people might stop liking you.

And that's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

Why not try the worksheet on our website to test what you've learned?

And that is@bbclearningenglish.com and you can also follow us on social media at BBCLearningEnglish.