Australia Pledges Tougher Enforcement of Social Media Ban for Teens

Byron Kaye, Reuters: Australia’s prime minister vowed on Friday to bullet-proof laws supporting a social ​media ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms amid a steady stream of evidence that the ban has had little impact on teen use. […] He did not give further details about what steps the government would take and the regulator declined to comment. The details matter. In general, though, anything that makes age gating more effective must presumably make accessing age-gated websites more difficult for everyone. Proponents will argue that it is worth the collective sacrifice because it will add a layer of protection for children. I sympathize with that argument, but I think it over-simplifies a complex story and presents a solution with serious problems — for instance, the possibility of data leaks. Sean Hollister, the Verge: “We have to do something about it as fast as possible, because people will find this and resell it. It will do damage,” Sammy…