[Music]
What's up, sunshine? And hello from our
wall of friends here at CNN
headquarters. Thank you so much for the
fresh art and the fresh start to the
holiday season. I can't tell you how
many times other CNNers stop by and
marvel at all of your creativity and
kindness. Thank you. Today is your word
Wednesday, so keep those ears on high
alert. See if the vocabulary word you
submitted made it into today's show. We
start today with some big news out of
the social media world. This month, many
kids in Australia will be forced off of
popular social media apps like Tik Tok
and Instagram. The new online safety
amendment bans anyone under 16 from
using any social media platform.
Lawmakers say the goal is to protect
children's well-being, backed by
research showing that too much screen
time causes more harm than good. But
some teenagers strongly disagree. The
timing of the ban has some worried about
isolation from their friends. This is
all happening right before they begin
their summer break. Our Angus Watson
spoke to some of the youngsters.
Teenagers Noah and Macy are taking their
government to court in a fight to stay
on social media. taking away how we
communicate to the world. This is how we
do it. It's the modern day. It's social
media.
>> From Wednesday, Australia will enforce a
world first law banning children under
16 from many of the biggest platforms.
Supported by a freedom advocacy group,
Macy Noah's case asserts a right to
political communication. The high court
has agreed to hear it next year.
>> So, what will you lose when social media
is taken away from you? Well, we will
lose connections, but we will lose our
democracy. This law is saying that
democracy begins at 16, which is
condescending and it's incorrect.
>> Listen, there are definitely negatives
on social media.
I'm not denying that. I completely
agree. We're saying that getting rid of
the kids is not the solution. We didn't
do anything wrong.
>> The government says it has acted to
protect children from potentially
harmful content, harmful people, and
addictive algorithms. And there are
these powerful harmful deceptive design
features that even adults are powerless
to fight against like autoplay and
endless scroll and snap streets. So what
chance do our children have?
>> Under the new law, young social media
users won't be punished for being on age
restricted apps, nor will their parents.
Instead, Australia is requiring tech
companies to take reasonable steps to
keep under 16s off their platforms and
threatening fines in the tens of
millions of dollars. Tech companies say
they are already building safer systems.
AI face detectors will likely be
employed to verify age with tools
provided by third party companies like
verify my users may also be asked to
upload their identity documents.
Australia is certainly leading the way
when it comes to requiring an age check
for every user um to determine that they
are over 16 or not.
>> The government's ban is a catch all. If
you're under the age of 16, you're off
social media. But children are all
different. They've engaged with social
media differently and they feel
differently about the ban. The students
at All Saints Anglican School on
Australia's Gold Coast are learning from
cyber safety advocate Kira Pendagast
about how to best avoid danger on social
media
>> because it is a delay. It's not a
flatout ban. They're not banning the
internet. We're not trying to boil the
ocean. It's literally just to delay age.
And so they've got time to catch up to
become more resilient and think more
critically about that how they use apps.
In their final year, Nicholas and Ruby
wonder if maybe their school career
would have been easier without the
distraction of social media.
>> Nick and I were talking before about how
if we could, we would delete Snapchat
today. But it's more the fact that
because there's now so much reliability
and connection based off one app, you
don't want to delete it.
>> Perhaps for young Australians, the fear
of missing out won't be so bad if
everyone is forced to miss out together.
Angus Watson, CNN, Sydney, Australia.
Pop quiz, hot shot. Before making a name
for herself during the 1955 Montgomery
bus boycott, what was Rosa Park's
profession? Switchboard operator,
seamstress, teacher, or cook?
If you said seamstress, you're so so
smart. Miss Parks worked at the
Montgomery Fair Department store. Also
volunteered her time as a secretary for
her local chapter of the NAACP where she
investigated cases of racial injustice.
70 years ago this month, civil rights
icon Rosa Parks refused to give up her
seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
The act of defiance sparked the 381-day
Montgomery bus boycott, and that
ultimately ended segregation on public
transportation, thrusting parks into the
history books forever. Now, seven
decades later, some never-beforeseen
photos are giving us a brand new look at
parts of her legacy that are often
overlooked. The photos taken by famed
civil rights photographer Matt Herren
show Miss Parks at the 1965 march from
Selma to Montgomery nearly a decade
after her famous act of civil
disobedience. The 5-day 54mm trek was a
key moment in the civil rights movement.
Often seen as a galvanizing momentum
that led to the US Voting Rights Act of
1965. The photos are on display at the
Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery. The
museum's director hopes they will serve
as a reminder that parks activism began
long before and extended well after that
impactful moment aboard that bus in
Alabama. In Paris, more bad news at the
Louve Museum. A spokesperson for the
world's largest museum says a water leak
has damaged a plethora of antique books
dating back to the 19th century. It
happened when a valve from a now defunct
plumbing system was opened in error.
That system is set to be replaced as
part of the museum's ongoing
renovations. The unfortunate incident
comes less than two months after the
Louvre made worldwide headlines for an
audacious heist when thieves made off
with priceless jewels in broad daylight.
The museum estimates up to 400 books
related to Egyptology and scientific
documentation were impacted. They don't
think the damage is permanent and they
do plan to return the books to the
shelves once repaired. And fortunately,
these are not the only copies of the
damaged books still in existence.
[Applause]
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10 is
you. On the 10th of every month, we
celebrate your wins. No matter how big,
small, silly, or serious, you've been
sending us stories that make us smile.
And as we like to think, smiles are
contagious. So, here we go. Our first 10
out of 10 moment comes from Emiline
Frce, a high school senior at Lake
Travis STEM Academy, landing her first
ever lead role as Fiona in Shrek the
Musical. She tells us, "I've trained for
years and stepping on stage felt like my
dreams were finally possible." Amazing,
Emiline. Keep on auditioning and keep
shining. Next, we head to Scarsdale, New
York, where Miles Wang, a competitive
springboard diver, shows us what
persistence really looks like. He wrote,
"Sometimes I fail smack and it really
hurts, but I always get back on the
board and try to learn from my
mistakes." Let's take a look.
And this year, the determination paid
off big time. Miles won second place at
the USA Diving Junior Nationals. That's
the way to rise up, Miles. Now, we just
saw some incredible dedication in the
pool, and our next story shows us that
that same drive on dry land is just as
impactful, making a real difference for
kids who need it. Katherine Hackett, a
sophomore at Rancho Buena Vista High
School, organized a movie night
fundraiser for Camp Kessum, a program
that supports kids who have or have had
a parent with cancer. Katherine's event
brought the whole community together.
Companies pitched in and she helped
raise about $7,000. Way to go,
Catherine. That is a 10 out of 10. Now,
for our final 10 out of 10 on the 10th,
we head to Wisconsin where Brody Olman,
the budding musician, has been playing
guitar for four years and decided to
challenge himself with a brand new song.
Yep, the riffs check out. Rock on,
Brody. We will be back with our next 10
out of 10 moments from you on January
10th. So send them our way. Send your
videos or photos via email at
cnn10@cn.com.
Congrats to today's your word Wednesday
winner, Mrs. Parales at Wakanda
Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska for
submitting plethora, a noun meaning a
large or excessive amount of something.
Thanks for boosting our vocab today. And
we have a shout out going to Woodsfield
Elementary in Woodsfield, Ohio. You
can't spell Woodsfield without the woo.
A CNN 10 themed reef. This is going to
be Deck in the Halls. Rise up. Thanks to
everyone for spending part of your day
with us. Go make someone smile today.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.
[Music]