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The Australian
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Australian
Including YouTube in social media ban ‘logical': opposition
The opposition is calling on Labor to include YouTube in its world-leading social media ban for under 16s. The videostreaming giant was initially set to be exempt, with the Albanese government arguing it could be educational. But the online watchdog has since advised YouTube should be included. Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said on Sunday she agreed. 'Once again, we're going back to government policies and failures when it comes to protecting Australian children,' she told the ABC's Insiders program. 'The government decided to put forward legislation after a lot of pushing from the Coalition and advocacy groups. 'But there is an exemption for YouTube – why? Why is it?' The Albanese government is facing calls to include YouTube in its social media ban for under 16s. Picture: Aaron Francis / NewsWire The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, last month warned kids were using YouTube more than any other social media platform. She said it was also causing the most harm to kids online. 'It's almost ubiquitous that kids are on social media,' she said at the time, also speaking to the ABC. 'By far the most prevalent social media site they're on is YouTube. 'And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent. 'This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.' Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh says it is 'logical' to include YouTube in Labor's social media ban. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw In her remarks on Sunday, Ms McIntosh called on the Albanese government to heed Ms Inman Grant's advice and include YouTube in the ban. 'It's a logical thing to do,' she said. 'What makes it complex is when there's some platforms that are out and then there's some that are in. 'If that's going to be the case, it needs to be clear to Australian families why that's the case. 'Because once again, it's our Australian kids that we need to be protecting first and foremost.' The social media ban is set to come into force in December. While other countries have mulled similar actions, Australia is the first to make the leap, receiving both praise and criticism. Last month, the brains tasked with finding a way to enforce the ban said it was possible but that there was no 'silver bullet'. The project's chief suggested successive validation, or a series of tests designed to firm up a user's age, could be the best bet.
Washington Post
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Federal judge bars Trump administration from expelling asylum seekers
A federal judge in the District of Columbia barred the Trump administration Wednesday from expelling asylum seekers from the United States, dealing a major blow to the administration's efforts to curtail crossings at the U.S. southern border. In a 128-page decision, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss invalidated a proclamation that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office that declared an 'invasion' on the border and invoked emergency presidential powers to deport migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum. Migrants and advocacy groups sued in February, saying federal law allows people to apply for the humanitarian protection no matter how they entered the United States.
CBC
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
American behind pro-Canada rallies says 'most Canadian thing ever'... 'we're sorry' about Trump
Kate Powers "felt shame" when she first heard U.S. President Donald Trump talking about annexing Canada. Powers said she was born and raised in western New York in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area. "Growing up, Canada was the backyard [with] trips to Toronto, trips to the Shaw Festival, trips to Stratford, family vacations in cottage country up on Georgian Bay," Powers told CBC Hamilton. "So, the idea to me that the president of the United States would get to a place where he would say we're going to annex Canada as the 51st state, to me is appalling. And I felt shame when I heard him first start talking this way." Powers is a co-organizer of a series of rallies from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from Alaska to Vermont to London, England, celebrating the longstanding friendship between the United States and Canada. Known as the 'Elbows Up for Canada' movement, the rally organizers represent a coalition of American and Canadian advocacy groups. Rallies are planned for July 5, including in Buffalo, N.Y. and Detroit, Mich. Powers said people with some small "grassroots groups" in Windsor, Ont., and in Ottawa will be participating in the rallies. One of the rallies is actually going to be sort of in the middle of the St. Lawrence River … so, folks in Canoes and kayaks and paddle boards from the United States and Canada are going to meet up just in the river across from Prescott, Ont.," she said. "They'll be at the great Canadian flag right down by the water in Windsor, and then there will be an event in Detroit directly across from them." 'Citizens on both sides want to build bridges, not walls' "In an era when division seems to dominate headlines, we want to show that the spirit of friendship and cooperation is alive and well along our shared border," Detroit-based co-organizer Audrey Bourriaud said. "These rallies prove that ordinary citizens on both sides want to build bridges, not walls." Powers gave credit to "the women in Quebec who made the human chain in February to oppose fascism," for the initial inspiration for the rallies. "I turned to my husband and I said we should do that across one of the bridges in Niagara Falls," she said. On Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day,' on April 2, when "he was announcing all of these arbitrary and capricious tariffs," Powers said the first "counter programming" rally was held in the shadow of the Peace Bridge in Buffalo. She said dozens of people turned out in "freezing rain [and] howling wind" to stand in solidarity with Canada. "We waved our flags and we sang the Canadian National anthem as loud as we could for them, although I'm sure they couldn't hear it across the river," Powers said. We want our Canadian friends to know that we're still friends, that regardless of the vitriol coming out of the White House, the predatory threats, that we love and respect Canada as a sovereign nation. Powers said the upcoming rallies have several goals. "The first one is to say to you … to everybody in Canada, the most Canadian thing ever — to say we're sorry," she said. "I know a lot of Canadians are hurt, are angry, are frustrated, are scared, and I don't blame them. It's important to me that folks understand that there's more than 300 million people in the United States and only 70 million people voted for Donald Trump … and a lot of us are just appalled and we are doing everything we can, but we do feel like we're dancing in quicksand right now around a lot of issues. "We want our Canadian friends to know that we're still friends, that regardless of the vitriol coming out of the White House, the predatory threats, that we love and respect Canada as a sovereign nation," Powers added. Additionally, Powers said Americans in general have not forgotten the numerous times that Canada has shown up for the U.S. as a good neighbour. "We are grateful to Canada for the ways that it has shown up for us at Normandy during the Civil War, after [the] September 11 [terrorist attacks], to fight the fires in California earlier this year," she said. "We respect your sovereignty, we respect the long-standing relationship and we understand that the trust has been broken and we're going to work to repair it. "We really want to counter the narrative that it's the most natural thing ever that the United States should annex Canada or, like he said earlier this week, that Canada is a nasty country to negotiate with. We know that that's not true, so we want to counter that narrative, and if we cannot reach him, we want to at least reach all of the governors on the northern border of the United States to say we might need to make our own arrangements with Canada," added Powers. In June, five Canadian premiers, including Ontario's Doug Ford, visited Boston at the invitation of some northeastern U.S. governors to try to forge alliances against Trump's tariffs. Ford was joined by fellow premiers Tim Houston of Nova Scotia, Susan Holt of New Brunswick, Rob Lantz of P.E.I. and John Hogan of Newfoundland and Labrador for a day of meetings at Massachusetts State House with the governors of seven states or their delegates. Speaking to reporters while in the U.S., Ford said he'd spoken to leaders from around the world who are "dumbfounded" by Trump's rhetoric. "We're in disbelief too, but now we're going to build forward," he said. Earlier this year, Canadians across the country were boycotting American products and cancelling vacations plans to the U.S. Those sentiments may not be as potent now, but for many the sentiment lingers. Yao Ameyaw told CBC News he's still avoiding spending money south of the border.
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Officers drag woman out of ICE rules hearing for attempting to speak
Camila Ramos, 36, was forcibly removed from a Miami -Dade Commission meeting after attempting to speak about a controversial agreement between county jails and ICE. Video footage showed deputies manhandling Ramos, causing her to fall to the floor, as she repeatedly shouted, 'Let go of me!' amid chants of 'let her speak!' from the audience. The incident occurred during a discussion of Resolution 11A, which allows county jails to hold Immigration detainees for ICE for up to 48 hours, a measure advocacy groups argue makes it harder to track undocumented family members. Ramos allegedly ignored an officer's instruction not to speak after the Commission Chair threatened to ban future public comments on the issue if anyone spoke out. The event reflects a broader push by Trump's mass deportation agenda, including the expansion of the 287(g) program and proposals like a large immigrant detention facility in Florida.
The Independent
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Shocking scenes as woman dragged out of meeting for trying to speak during hearing on ICE rules
Chants of 'let her speak!' erupted at a Miami-Dade Commission meeting, after a woman was dragged out of the event before being given a chance to give her remarks on a controversial agreement between county jails and ICE. Video footage and pictures showed the woman, later identified by local Florida news outlets as 36-year-old Camila Ramos, being manhandled by County Sheriff's deputies and falling to the floor at the meeting on Thursday. 'Let go of me!' Ramos shouted repeatedly. 'I can stand and I can be quiet… I have a right to understand this process… Stop it!' The altercation prompted cheers from others assembled in the room. The incident came after the board's refusal to vote on an agreement between the jails and ICE that advocacy groups say will make it harder for families to track undocumented family members if they are taken into custody. Resolution 11A also allows the county jails to hold immigration detainees on behalf of ICE for up to 48 hours and charge the government $50 per person, per NBC South Florida. Ramos allegedly ignored an officer who told her not to speak after Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez explained he would ban future public comments on the issue if any person chose to speak at the meeting. The Miami Herald reported that the outburst later prompted further small scuffles with law enforcement. The scenes in Florida come against the backdrop of an ongoing push by the Trump administration to expand its immigration powers by tapping resources from other federal agencies. So-called 287(g) agreements — named after a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act — effectively deputize local law enforcement to work with federal agencies to enforce federal law. ICE has signed 571 of those cooperative agreements covering 40 states as of May 18, according to ICE. The expansion of the 287(g) program 'further fuels Trump's mass deportation agenda by expanding the dragnet for putting people into the arrest to deportation pipeline,' according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Earlier this month, federal troops were deployed to Los Angeles over the objections of California officials in response to widespread protests against immigration raids, sparking violent clashes in the city and surrounding areas. Officials reported having carried out roughly 1,200 arrests per day in June, though the number still looks set to increase. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have reportedly urged immigration officials to hit 3,000 arrests per day. Elsewhere in Florida, Trump's allies have signed up in force with state officials reclaiming public land in the Everglades to build 'Alligator Alcatraz' – a prison designed to detain thousands of immigrants. The project is expected to cost roughly $450 million a year to operate.
