France, Feb. 3 -- Australia's Social Media Minimum Age law, banning under 16-year-olds from social media, came into effect on 10 December, forcing platforms to take "reasonable steps" to keep them off, or face up to €29 million (Aus$49.5 million).

After a week, tech platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and Youtube had blocked 4.7 million accounts Australia's eSafety online regulator reported, delivering "significant outcomes".

Snapchat, which said it did not believe it should be part of the ban, as its platform is used primarily for communication, on Monday said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 teen accounts in Australia as of the end of January.

French MPs vote to curb children's screen time with under-15 social media ba...