A new report from Australia’s online regulator has confirmed what many young people and their parents have known for months: the under-16s social media ban isn’t really working very well. Major platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube aren’t doing enough to comply with the ban – and a large number of young people still have social media accounts.

And as Lisa Given explains, the report reiterates a concern she and other experts have been raising for years: restricting access to accounts does not actually address the harms posed by the addictive design of many of these platforms.

And in other significant news for young people yesterday, the Fair Work Commission handed down a landmark decision to abolish junior rates of pay for 18- to 20-year-olds working in the fast food, retail and pharmacy sectors, who previously received lower pay for the same work, due to their age.

There are still some important safeguards for employers hiring younger, less experienced workers. But as Edith Cowan University’s Kerry Brown points out, the move addresses a longstanding unfairness and brings workplace pay in line with modern social standards, such as the right to vote.