The goal of the proposed bill, which will be presented to parliament next week, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is to lessen the “harm” that social media causes to Australian youngsters.

“This one’s for the parents… They share my extreme concern for our children’s online safety. Albanese expressed his desire for Australian families to understand that the government is on their side.

Although the specifics are still being discussed, the government has stated that there would be no exceptions for parental agreement and that the ban will not apply to youngsters who are currently engaged on social media. Social media companies will have to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate precautions to keep minors off of their sites. There are no consequences for users, and the eSafety Commissioner, Australia’s internet regulator, will enforce the rule.

The law will go into effect 12 months after it is passed, and it will then be reviewed. Though perspectives on whether a ban is the right course of action vary, many experts concur that social media can negatively impact adolescents’ mental health. Some others think that rather than teaching kids how to use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok securely, restrictions just postpone their introduction to these sites.

Age-verification procedures have encountered difficulties in other regions, such as the European Union, where similar limits have proven challenging. Major advocacy group Australia’s Child Rights Taskforce called the new law “too blunt” and asked the government to think about “safety standards” instead. In an open letter, the organization referenced UN recommendations for regulations that allow kids to interact with digital spaces in a secure way instead of limiting their access.

Some activists, however, are in favor of the ban, pointing to worries about kids being exposed to harmful content, false information, and cyberbullying. Currently, “excessive social media use is rewiring young brains within a critical window of psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness,” according to the 36Months initiative, which has amassed over 125,000 signatures. It contends that children are “not yet ready to navigate online social networks safely” until they are at least age 16.

Albanese stated that education alone is insufficient since it “assumes an equal power relationship.” This begs the question of whether the emphasis should instead be on educating kids how to manage the advantages and risks of the online environment.

“I don’t want to see some items that keep coming up on my system; I’m not sure about you. Let alone a 14-year-old who is so vulnerable,” he stated on Thursday. “These tech firms are really strong. These apps’ algorithms encourage users to act in particular ways.

Whatsapp, owned by Meta, has introduced a new function that allows users to back up their data through Google accounts. This allows users to save important information such as messages, videos, images, and documents.

When upgrading phones or switching devices, it is essential to have a backup and recovery option for WhatsApp because it is a vital tool for messaging, calling, and sharing data.

The bright side is that, with just a few easy steps, consumers may now retrieve data using their Google accounts.

First, open WhatsApp and go to the menu by tapping the three dots.
Second, find the Chats area in the Settings menu.
Third, go to the Chats tab and choose Chat backup.
The fourth step is to select the Google account that you wish to back up.
Step 5: Select “Back up.”

All of your data will be uploaded to the cloud once you complete this procedure. How long it takes is proportional to how fast your internet is. After it’s finished, you may restore the backup on the device you’re moving to. Just find the “search for backup” option and click on “restore backup.” Oh, I see! Your entire conversation history and media library will be safely stored on your new device.

Only transfers between Android devices or iOS devices can use this WhatsApp function.

Japanese researchers developed the first wooden satellite in history, which was sent into space Tuesday as a preliminary test of the use of wood in lunar and Mars exploration.

Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry (1911.T) created LignoSat, which will be launched into orbit approximately 400 kilometres (250 miles) above Earth after being flown to the ISS on a SpaceX mission.

As people investigate space living, the palm-sized LignoSat—named after the Latin word for “wood”—is entrusted with showcasing the renewable material’s cosmic possibilities.

According to astronaut Takao Doi, who has flown on the Space Shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University, “We will be able to build houses, live, and work in space forever with timber, a material we can produce by ourselves.”

Doi’s team chose to create a NASA-certified wooden satellite in order to demonstrate that wood is a space-grade material, with the goal of growing trees and constructing timber dwellings on the moon and Mars in 50 years.

“In the early 1900s, aeroplanes were made of wood,” said Koji Murata, a professor of forest science at Kyoto University. “A wooden satellite should be feasible, too.”

Murata stated that because there is no oxygen or water to rot or inflame wood, it is more resilient in space than it is on Earth.

The researchers claim that a wooden satellite also lessens its final environmental impact.

Re-entering the atmosphere is necessary for decommissioned spacecraft to prevent becoming space trash. Wooden satellites simply burn up with less pollution than conventional metal ones, which produce aluminium oxide particles after re-entry, according to Doi.

“Metal satellites might be banned in the future,” stated Doi. “If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.”

Industrial use
The researchers conducted a 10-month trial aboard the International Space Station and discovered that honoki, a type of magnolia tree native to Japan and usually used for sword sheaths, is most suitable for spaceships.

LignoSat is constructed from honoki, a traditional Japanese craft manufactured without the use of glue or screws.

After launch, LignoSat will remain in orbit for six months, during which time its electronic components will measure how well wood withstands the harsh conditions of space, where temperatures range from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as it circles from darkness to sunlight.

Additionally, LignoSat will measure wood’s capacity to lessen the effects of space radiation on semiconductors, which makes it valuable for uses like building data centres, according to Kenji Kariya, a manager at Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute.

“It may seem outdated, but wood is actually cutting-edge technology as civilisation heads to the moon and Mars,” stated him. “Expansion to space could invigorate the timber industry.”