Dec 5, 2025 – 9.06am

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It’s merely a coincidence that the technology used by Australia’s social media age restriction shares its suffix with every scandal since Watergate, but that doesn’t mean it’s not controversial.

“Age-gate” technology, which some social media companies have already begun to implement – before the law starts on December 10 – is meant to block access to 10 of the most popular social media platforms for anyone under the age of 16 years old who is “ordinarily a resident of Australia”.

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