I have literally never heard this.
The ban doesn't stop teens consuming social media content like tik tok. Your argument seems like quite a stretch.
That is exactly what the ban aims to do? TikTok is literally listed in the article as one of the platforms ordered to ban access by under-16s
Is it still publicly viewable without age verification in Australia? It's a little unclear from TFA whether the ban is purely on account creation, or also applies to viewing.
AFAIK this is strictly on having an account.
It takes the completely ridiculous idea that harm is caused by having an account. Youtube even pointed out that, the lack of account means it cant work its algo magic to try and push age appropriate videos to users. Government doesnt care. No Account. No Problem.
Ironically, youtube is now more likely to send kids andrew tate or russian propaganda to kids.
Here's Hillary Clinton onstage a week ago: https://x.com/prem_thakker/status/1995961131215847749
There is a lot of Australian-American political confusion/conflation in this whole thread.