The Download explores unsuccessful social media bans and ways to extend pets’ lives.

Meta description: France, Australia, and the UK are pushing social media bans for minors, but early evidence shows kids bypass age checks easily. Plus: pet life extension and iron batteries.

Tags: social media regulation, age verification, pet cloning, Form Energy, AI liability

France joined Australia in July by barring children under 15 from major social media platforms, though the country's top court blocked the measure on human rights grounds. The UK aims to forbid under-16s from accessing Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms in early 2027, and the EU has announced its own plan to prohibit social media for kids under 15. But early lessons from Australia, which enacted a ban in 2024, show that age restrictions are easily circumvented. Writing in MIT Technology Review, Michal Luria, Aliya Bhatia, and Danah Boyd argue that kids outsmarting these bans is not a problem that needs solving—and that other approaches to keeping children safe online deserve more attention.

The Background: A Wave of Age Restrictions

Australia passed its under-16 social media ban in 2024, becoming the first country to enact such a law. France followed in July with a ban on under-15s, which was subsequently blocked by the country's top court on human rights grounds. The UK has set early 2027 as its target for restricting under-16 access to Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms. The EU has also announced plans to prohibit social media for children under 15. These measures represent a broad regulatory push across multiple jurisdictions, all aimed at limiting minors' access to major platforms.

What the Evidence Shows

Despite the accumulating legislation, early experience from Australia suggests that minors routinely find ways around age verification systems. The gap between passing a law and actually keeping kids off platforms has proven wide. The authors of the MIT Technology Review piece argue that circumvention itself should not be treated as the core problem—instead, the focus should shift to what actually works to keep kids safe online.

Biotech's Expanding Menu for Pet Owners

In a separate story from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review's weekly biotech newsletter, Jessica Hamzelou reflects on the loss of her first cat, Peppy, who went missing when Hamzelou was 10 years old. Nearly 30 years later, pet owners face an expanding set of options to potentially prolong their time with companion animals. These include drugs, cloning, and even cryonics. The full story examines both the promises and the pitfalls of pet life extension.

Form Energy and the Iron Battery Bet

As wind and solar power grow, utilities need cheaper ways to store electricity for longer periods. Form Energy aims to meet that need with batteries that can store energy for 100 hours. The company has developed a new type of battery using iron, a far more abundant and cheaper metal than those used in many existing batteries. It relies on a process Form calls "reversible rusting," in which iron turns to rust as the battery discharges and back to iron when it charges. Form Energy is one of MIT Technology Review's 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch.

Other Developments Worth Tracking

Insurance is emerging as the next big obstacle for AI. AI companies are accumulating billions of dollars in legal liabilities from damage their products cause, and the FTC has sent subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic over consumer harms. A Russian drone entered NATO waters for the first time, with attacks near Bulgaria and Romania spurring requests for better defenses. An AI sell-off has rattled global markets, raising questions about the sustainability of demand for data centers; Anthropic reported slowing growth in its latest quarterly results, and Accenture has told employees they can only spend $29 on Claude each month. Governments are hacking people with "zero click" spyware delivered through millions of innocuous-looking online adverts, and criminals stole $90 million from crypto wallets last week in a highly sophisticated hack. Big Tech gave Trump $92 million for his ballroom, while the president himself won't be spending a dime. Celebrity deepfakes are proliferating and selling products the actual celebrities have probably never heard of. AI apps and agents may help lighten parents' mental load—if they agree to share masses of their data. The memory shortage is making it prohibitively expensive for schools to equip students with laptops and tablets. The world's official timekeepers have agreed to ditch the leap second, a move that ought to cut the risk of time-based computer glitches. Tesla has finally unveiled its flying car after a decade, though it still won't be shipping next year.

What to Watch Next

The gap between social media bans on paper and their real-world effects will become clearer as the UK's 2027 target approaches and the EU's plan takes shape. Australia's experience since 2024 offers the most concrete evidence so far. In biotech, the question of whether pet life extension is a good thing remains open as drugs, cloning, and cryonics become more accessible. And Form Energy's iron battery—if it delivers on the 100-hour storage promise—could reshape how utilities think about renewable reliability.