Tech
Vietnam is looking to restrict social media for kids; here are the growing number of other countries doing the same
Vietnam is weighing the most unusual version yet of the youth social media bans that are sweeping the globe. Instead of kicking kids off platforms entirely, the country wants to let them stay logged in — just muted.
Under a draft decree from Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, reported on Friday by Reuters, users under 16 would keep their social media accounts but lose the ability to post, comment, or react to content. The proposal would require social media accounts for children under 16 to be registered under a parent, who would then be responsible for monitoring the content the child accesses and their time spent on the platforms. The platforms themselves would be required to deploy technical measures to identify which of their users are children and restrict them to age-appropriate content.
Deputy Culture Minister Phan Tam said the goal isn’t to ban or excessively restrict children’s access to social media, but to ensure they’re in an age-appropriate environment when they do use it. The decree hasn’t been finalized and could still be revised before adoption. Vietnam is also considering separate restrictions on gaming, which would cap play for under-16 users at 60 minutes a day per game and apply the same parental registration requirement used for social media accounts.
Vietnam’s approach is inventive, but it’s hardly alone. Over the past months, many countries have announced plans to restrict social media access for children and teens. Australia became the first to implement such measures at the end of last year, setting a precedent that other countries are closely watching. Along with Vietnam, France more recently announced such a measure.
The regulations and proposals being brought forth by governments around the world aim to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, which include cyberbullying, addiction, mental health issues, and exposure to predators.
Of course, there are concerns about privacy regarding invasive age verification and excessive government intervention. Critics, including Amnesty Tech, have further said such bans are ineffective and that they ignore the realities of younger generations. Many nations are moving ahead with proposed legislation anyway.
If you’re curious about the countries that are considering or have already moved forward with bans on social media for young users, read on.
Australia
Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16 in December 2025. The ban blocks children from using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. It notably doesn’t include WhatsApp or YouTube Kids.
The Australian government has said these social media companies must take steps to keep children off their services. Companies that fail to comply may face penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD ($34.4 million USD).
The government says these platforms should use multiple verification methods to ensure that people using their services are older than 16. It also notes that they can’t rely on users simply entering their own age.
Austria
Austria said in late March that it will ban social media for children up to the age of 14. Draft legislation for the ban is expected to be finalized by June.
Canada
The Canadian government introduced a digital safety bill in early June that would ban social media for children under 16. Under the legislation, social media giants could sidestep the ban if they demonstrate they have policies to protect young users. Officials have said it could take a year for the bill to pass.
Denmark
Denmark is set to ban social media platforms for children under 15. The Danish government announced in November 2025 that it had secured support for the ban from three governing coalition parties and two opposition parties in parliament.
The government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026, according to the Associated Press. The Danish digital affairs ministry is also launching a “digital evidence” app that includes age verification tools that may be used as part of the ban.
France
France passed a law on July 21 banning access to social media for anyone under 15. The law could go into effect as soon as September 1. The law will also ban the use of cell phones in high schools, extending a ban already present in primary and middle schools.
Germany
In early February, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives discussed a proposal to bar children under 16 from using social media, Reuters reported. However, there were signs that his center-left coalition partners were hesitant to support an outright ban.
Greece
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in April that the country is going to ban access to social media for children under 15 starting January 2027. Mitsotakis says the move is aimed at tackling rising anxiety and sleep problems among children, as well as the addictive design of social media.
Indonesia
Indonesia said in early March that it’s banning children under the age of 16 from using social media and other popular online platforms. The country plans to start with platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.
Malaysia
The Malaysian government said in November 2025 that it plans to ban social media for children under 16. The country plans to implement the ban this year.
Poland
Poland’s ruling party is drafting new legislation that would ban children under 15 from using social media, Bloomberg reported in February.
Slovenia
Slovenia is drafting legislation to prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media, the country’s deputy prime minister announced in early February. The government wants to regulate social networks where content is shared, citing platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.
Spain
Spain’s prime minister announced in early February that the country plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16. The ban still needs parliamentary approval. The Spanish government is also seeking to create a law that would make social media executives personally accountable for hate speech on their platforms.
Turkey
The Turkish parliament in April passed a bill to restrict social media access for children under 15. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan must now accept the bill for it to pass into law.
UK
U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer announced on June 15 that his government will impose a ban on social media use for children under 16 years of age. The ban would apply to a range of social media platforms, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal will not be included in the ban. There are also going to be limitations on AI tools, as AI “romantic companion” chatbots will have to ensure they are only usable by people over 18.
Experts have questioned whether a blanket ban would be effective. Starmer has acknowledged the challenges but said he believes it’s possible to enforce it. He said a ban could be in place by spring 2027.
Vietnam
See above for the latest on Vietnam’s proposal.
This story was originally published in February 2026 and is updated regularly with new information.
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Tech
Sam Altman’s biometric startup World raises $52.5M via crypto sale
World, the online verification startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has raised $52.5 million through a crypto token sale to strategic investors.
Participating investors joined a 12-month lockup sale of World’s token, WLD. Lockup periods prevent asset buyers from selling or trading their tokens for a set period of time. The yearlong lockup demonstrates investors’ “long-term commitment to World’s continued growth and utility,” the company said Friday in a press release.
The money will go to the World Foundation, an exempted limited guarantee foundation based in the Cayman Islands, created to steward the expansion of World’s network.
The sale’s lead buyer is Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focused on digital assets. Other companies involved in the sale included Eightco Holdings, Bain Capital Crypto, Susquehanna Crypto, and Selini Capital, among others.
The World project is operated by Tools for Humanity (TFH), a startup based in San Francisco and led by CEO and co-founder Alex Blania. Altman is the company’s other co-founder.
World is an unusual business that revolves around online verification and sells access to what it calls “proof of human” tools. The idea is that, as bots and AI generate much of the content online, it will become increasingly important to know who is really human and who isn’t. World’s mission is to popularize its World ID, an anonymous digital marker that verifies whether a human — not a bot or an AI agent — is behind a particular account.
To get a verified World ID (the highest level of verification within World’s system), users must have their eyes scanned by an Orb, a metallic ball that converts a user’s iris into a distinct cryptographic identifier. World’s Orbs are located at its offices and have also been deployed at partner stores around the world.
The project began as a more overtly crypto-based experiment under the name “Worldcoin” — the same name of the crypto asset involved in the recent sale. Users can trade or hold the token through World’s app, which also serves as a custodial wallet. The company later rebranded to World amidst a broader backlash against the crypto industry.
In April, the project launched a new version of its app and announced partnerships with companies, including Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign. Yet, despite its global ambitions, World has struggled to scale its business or convince consumers to care much about its mission. In June, TFH conducted a round of layoffs.
Correction July 24: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that World has a partnership with Ticketmaster. It does not. We regret the error.
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Tech
OpenAI’s own model went rogue before Kimi had Wall Street sweating
Chinese AI lab Moonshot’s open model Kimi went viral this week for reasons that had less to do with the model itself and more to do with how the U.S. AI industry reacted to it. Meanwhile, an unreleased OpenAI model wandered outside its test environment and ended up connected to a real security breach at Hugging Face — a reminder that “China risk” isn’t the only kind of AI risk worth worrying about.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into why Kimi K3 set off a fresh round of AI panic, the industry’s response to an OpenAI staffer’s “regulatory FUD” post, and what that OpenAI breach means for AI security more broadly.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Tech
India’s move against Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat sparks legal debate
An apparent Indian government effort to remove GitHub repositories for Jack Dorsey’s offline Bluetooth-powered messaging app Bitchat has raised questions about the legal basis for targeting open source software because of how it works.
The issue with Bitchat came to light after Dorsey posted on X on Friday what he said was a notice from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs directing GitHub to restrict access to three Bitchat repositories within three hours. The notice argues that the app’s anonymous, decentralized architecture could facilitate unlawful activity and allow users to communicate during internet shutdowns while making lawful interception more difficult.
The move comes as Indian authorities tighten internet restrictions after weeks of student-led protests in New Delhi over alleged examination paper leaks.
The demonstrations, known as the “cockroach” movement, have drawn thousands of young people demanding the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, with authorities also imposing restrictions on marches toward the parliament. Local media reported that some protesters downloaded offline messaging apps, including Bitchat and Briar, after internet services were suspended.
The order represents a new approach for the Indian government, which, before 2021, typically relied on Section 69A of the IT Act and the 2009 Blocking Rules when it wanted content removed nationwide, according to Mishi Choudhary, founder of SFLC.in, an Indian digital rights legal advocacy group.
She told TechCrunch that the document resembled the format of recent government takedown notices, but the legal provisions it cites do not clearly authorize authorities to seek the removal of an entire software project because of how it works rather than any specific illegal content.
Unlike many government takedown requests, the document Dorsey shared does not identify specific posts, messages, or repositories containing unlawful material. Instead, it argues that Bitchat’s ability to function during internet shutdowns and without central servers could facilitate unlawful activity.
The notice, dated July 23 and apparently issued by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which operates under India’s Home Ministry, said Bitchat enables users to communicate “even during network restrictions” and “internet shutdowns,” making it possible to “circumvent lawful restrictions” while hampering “lawful interception, attribution, and traceability.”
In recent days, Bitchat has seen a sharp rise in popularity in India. Market intelligence provider Sensor Tower shared data with TechCrunch that showed that India accounted for about 85% of the app’s global downloads between July 17 and July 23, compared with about 1% over the previous 30 days. Bitchat was downloaded more than 91,000 times in India over the past five days, after downloads jumped thirty-two-fold on July 19 from the previous day. The app’s daily active users in India also reached more than 330,000 on Thursday, the highest level recorded for the app in the country.
Request raises questions about open source software
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a New Delhi-based digital rights advocacy group, questioned the effectiveness of the apparent takedown request.
“The order also fails on its own terms as deleting a repository does not delete the application from any phone that carries it, and the mesh keeps functioning without servers. What the takedown actually prevents is scrutiny of the underlying code,” the group said on X.
Raman Chima, global program director at the Association for Progressive Communications, a global digital rights network, told TechCrunch the apparent notice went beyond targeting the messaging service itself by seeking to remove its open source code from GitHub.
“They’re [the Indian government] not just targeting the designated service provider, but they’re trying to say that open source development of this type of product … should not occur,” he said.
GitHub did not confirm whether it had received the document. The repositories remained accessible from India on Friday. Asked about the apparent notice, the company shared a link to its public repository of government takedown requests, which did not contain any recent requests related to Bitchat.
Namrata Maheshwari, Asia Pacific policy manager and encryption policy lead at digital rights group Access Now, told TechCrunch that blocking an offline messaging platform during internet restrictions risked turning shutdowns into “a communication blackout” that violated fundamental rights. Protesters in any democracy have the right to communicate privately and coordinate peacefully, she said.
“When we receive a complete government takedown request, we notify the affected account owners and give them an opportunity to appeal,” Rose Coogan, the company’s principal online safety counsel, said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. “We share every government takedown request we take action on publicly.”
India’s Home Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
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