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Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 takes effect Wednesday, barring 2.6 million young people from major platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Rural teenagers worry the ban will isolate them from far-flung friends, while others argue it will push young people toward more dangerous, unregulated alternatives.

Two 15-year-olds are challenging the ban in Australia’s High Court, claiming it violates their constitutional right to political communication and expression.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Riley Allen, a 15-year-old schoolboy living on an Outback sheep ranch, doesn’t know how he’ll keep in touch with his circle of far-flung friends once Australia’s world-first

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