Australia’s government says it will introduce world-first legislation to ban children under 16 from social media.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposed laws, to be tabled in parliament next week, were aimed at mitigating the “harm” social media was inflicting on Australian children.

“This one is for the mums and dads… They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back,” he said.

While many of the details are yet to be debated, the government said the ban will not apply to young people already on social media.

There will be no exemptions on the age limit for children who have consent from their parents. The government says that the onus will be on social media platforms to show they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access.

Albanese said there would be no penalties for users, and that it would be up to Australia’s online regulator – the eSafety Commissioner – to enforce the laws.

The legislation would come into force 12 months after it passes and be subject to a review after it’s in place.

While most experts agree that social media platforms can harm the mental health of adolescents, many are split over the efficacy of trying to outlaw them all together.

Some experts argue that bans only delay young people’s exposure to apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, instead of teaching them how to navigate complex online spaces.

Previous attempts at restricting access, including by the European Union, have largely failed or found the implementation challenging given that there are tools which can circumvent age-verification requirements.

Australia’s peak body for child rights has criticised the proposed ban as “too blunt an instrument”.

In an open letter sent to the government in October, signed by over 100 academics and 20 civil society groups, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce called on Albanese to instead look at imposing “safety standards” on social media platforms.

The group also pointed to UN advice that “national policies” aimed at regulating online spaces “should be aimed at providing children with the opportunity to benefit from engaging with the digital environment and ensuring their safe access to it”.

But other grassroots organisations have lobbied Australia’s government for the laws, saying bans are needed to protect children from harmful content, misinformation, bullying and other social pressures.

A petition by campaign group 36Months, which has over 120,000 signatures, argues children are “not yet ready to navigate online social networks safely” until at least 16, and that currently “excessive social media use is rewiring young brains within a critical window of psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness”.

When asked whether there should be broader efforts to educate children about how to navigate the benefits and risks of being online, Albanese said that such an approach would be insufficient because it “assumes an equal power relationship”.

“I don’t know about you, but I get things popping up on my system that I don’t want to see. Let alone a vulnerable 14-year-old,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“These tech companies are incredibly powerful. These apps have algorithms that drive people towards certain behaviour.”

As Microsoft reports on its Support page, the Outlook app is facing a new issue that causes it to crash when you open more than 60 emails simultaneously. This adds to an existing problem with the Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut. The software giant is investigating the problem and its possible cause.

When you open over 60 emails on the Outlook app or try the keyboard combination when copying text, the app freezes and displays different error messages. However, the error messages include tips for fixing the issue. You might see a message that says: “Sorry, we’re having trouble opening this item. This could be temporary, but if you see it again, you might want to restart Outlook. Out of memory or system resources. Close some windows or programs and try again.”

Another error you might see will say: “Out of memory or system resources. Close some windows or programs and try again.” Regardless of which one appears, it’s still a frustrating issue to deal with if you ever have to open this many emails for some reason. On the bright side, Microsoft is working on a fix, but the software giant has not officially said when this fix will be rolled out. But we hope it’s sooner than later.

If you need an urgent fix to the issue, Microsoft suggests changing the Windows registry to augment the number of processes allowed simultaneously. We don’t recommend this since tampering with the Windows registry can cause severe damage, including app failures, crashes, system malfunctions, and other issues. Other workarounds include rolling back to an older version of Outlook or switching to the New Outlook app.

Google is reportedly on the cusp of making a big change to the Android TV release cycle. Currently, the company announces a new version of the OS for smart TVs annually. However, a recent report claims that Google plans to skip the launch of Android TV 15 in favor of Android TV 16, which is expected to happen in 2026.

Android TV is still based on the source code of the Android we know but with UI customizations for the specific form factor. The OS supports APK installation, although the Google Play Store only lets you download apps tailored for TVs to ensure a smooth user experience. By the way, if you’re not aware, Google TV is just a custom skin on Android TV.

Google might launch Android TV 16 in 2026; new bi-yearly release cycle

TV manufacturers are much slower to roll out Android TV updates than smartphone brands. After all, TVs serve a very specific purpose and are always fixed in one place. Basically, most users only care that their TV has good picture quality and works well. Additionally, many people wait several years before purchasing new TVs. This approach differs significantly from that of smartphones, where many change their devices annually, necessitating a more consistent rollout of new features.

With that in mind, it looks like Google will move to a bi-yearly release cycle for the launch of new Android TV versions. Android TV 14, released this year, is the latest update available. According to Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority, Google will skip Android TV 15 to release Android TV 16. However, the new bi-yearly release cycle means that the update won’t arrive until 2026.

As its name suggests, Android TV 14 uses the Android 14 code as a base. So, we should see something similar with the launch of Android TV 16. The source doesn’t totally rule out that the update will be based on the Android 15 code, although it is unlikely.

No info about new features yet

It’s still too early to tell what new features the Android TV 16 update will bring. Android versions for smart TVs don’t even integrate all the features we see on smartphones and tablets. Therefore, the leaks that have surfaced about Android 16 may not apply to its TV counterpart. So, we will have to wait a few more months to have information about it.

Virtua Fighter may soon be punching its way back into the public eye. Justin Scarpone, Sega’s global head of transmedia, casually dropped the news about a new game in the franchise during an interview with . “We have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket, which we announced last year at The Game Awards,” he said. “Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and we have another Virtua Fighter being developed. And so all that’s very exciting.”

Exciting indeed. Most of those titles were indeed showcased during The Game Awards as part of for Sega, but Scarpone’s mention of Virtua Fighter is a new revelation. The last numbered entry in the series was Virtua Fighter 5 all the way back in 2006. That’s not to say the fighting game franchise has been static since then; there have been riffs and redos such as in 2015 and 2021’s Virtua Fighter Ultimate Showdown. But it has been nearly 20 years since fans have gotten an all new game.

Beyond this offhand confirmation that Sega is working on a follow-up, we know nothing about what the future might hold for a possible Virtua Fighter 6. It seems likely that Akira Yuki and other familiar faces will return, but anything’s possible for the characters and mechanics.

Tech leaders said they are ready to work with the new Trump administration, stating that American leadership in AI and the government’s focus on tech policies must be ensured. 

Throughout the campaign, Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, presented a tech industry-friendly approach and courted personalities like Elon Musk to shore up support from the sector. AI companies, like Musk’s xAI, could greatly benefit from this more tech-focused administration, especially if the Biden administration’s flagship AI executive order is repealed. 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman congratulated Trump, adding, “It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values.” Greg Brockman, OpenAI president, echoed the same sentiment, pointing out that he believes it is with technology and AI that the country can “continue to lead the world and protect democratic values.”

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas also took to social media to offer his congratulations. 

“USA is the land of dreams, opportunity and competition. Look forward to working with the new government to improve how people search for information online with AI,” he said. 

Srinivas also touted Perplexity’s election information hub. According to Srinivas, around 10% of Perplexity usage on November 5 revolved around the elections. 

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, said the US is undergoing a “golden age of innovation.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is starting to roll out more AI features on its devices, also promised to work with the administration.

LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, an outspoken supporter of Kamala Harris, expressed the need to “get to the hard work of bridging divisions and ensuring that all Americans can enjoy safe, secure, and prosperous futures.”

Change in policies

The Biden administration has been vocal in seeking to support AI innovation with balancing privacy protections, culminating in the AI executive order in October last year. Since then, the government began looking into the potential dangers of open-weight models and asked companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to submit their unreleased AI models for safety evaluations. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran against Trump instead of President Joe Biden, represented the US in international gatherings on AI safety and regulation. 

Tech companies faced scrutiny during the Biden administration as the government put forward several anti-trust cases. The Department of Justice, after winning its monopoly case against Google, put forward a potential plan to break up the tech giant. 

Game company Epic won against Google, accusing the search giant of monopoly. Epic’s lawsuit against Apple, however, failed. The DOJ filed a separate antitrust case against Apple in March. 

A more tech-friendly administration may mean a less litigious DOJ or Federal Trade Commission and fewer antitrust lawsuits, though Trump previously sued tech companies in his first term. 

President-elect Donald Trump spent plenty of time on the campaign trail railing against key portions of the Inflation Reduction Act, from solar and wind tax credits to electric vehicles and environmental justice initiatives. 

But his return to the presidency doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the landmark legislation. While Trump’s administration is unlikely to be supportive of certain climate tech startups, it will have a harder time ending the broadly popular law.

The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, ushered in a range of tax credits and incentives aimed at reducing carbon pollution in the U.S. and attracting climate-friendly industries to the country. On both accounts, it’s been successful. Carbon emissions are down, and investment in climate tech is up.

Startups have broadly benefited from the Inflation Reduction Act. Tax credits have encouraged investors to plow money into nuclear power, hydrogen, and all things EV-related. Nuclear power, which is one of the more expensive sources of electricity in the U.S., receives a production tax credit under the law. Green hydrogen does, too, which could help it achieve cost parity with fossil fuel-derived hydrogen much more quickly. Battery startups have benefited as major manufacturers look to develop domestic supply chains for new factories in the U.S.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Further downstream, startups have sprouted to help homeowners and landlords install heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers. It’s the sort of knock-on effect that broadens the impact beyond the hit to the U.S. treasury.

By many measures, the law has been a success: In the first year alone, more than 270 clean energy projects were announced and private investments in the space topped $130 billion. Companies invested in manufacturing, and consumers spent on everything from EVs to heat pumps, according to the Rhodium Group. Batteries destined for EVs and grid-scale storage have arguably benefited the most: Investors have bet $110 billion on the space to date, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

The biggest hurdle Trump will face is the fact that the Inflation Reduction Act is already on the books. Repealing it will require a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate; many previous climate-related policies under Barack Obama were executive orders, which are easier to reverse, or regulatory changes, which take longer but can be a lighter lift than repealing a law. Trump’s administration might be able to water down some provisions and redirect some funding. But given support from moderate Republicans and the public popularity of certain provisions of the law, it’s unlikely that Trump will be able to eliminate the law entirely.