Australia has a legal age for social media

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

The Clueless Founder: What is a Founders’ Agreement?

Welcome to our new series titled ‘The Clueless Founder’. A new founder’s life is both exciting and very complicated—and we’re all a little bit clueless. You’ve gotta figure out how to build, scale, raise paisa, make paisa, hire the right people, find the right partners—all at the same time. So we’re going to take a deep breath and break it down one episode at a time. Think of it as a no-BS, real life guide for any founder who is just starting out.

In this first episode, Lakshmi Chaudhry (splainer Founder) and Chitra Raghavan (Partner, Rajaram Legal) discuss the one document that both causes the most drama—and also saves you from the ugliest drama. And that’s the Founder’s Agreement. It's the startup equivalent of the shaadi prenup. Very icky and very necessary. Watch it below.

Sedition charges against AltNews founder

The context: Mohammed Zubair is the co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News. In June 2022, he was arrested for tweets that allegedly hurt religious sentiments and promoted enmity. Though he got out on bail within a month, the incident marked a rare escalation against English-language news sites and journalists—who are typically charged but almost never thrown in jail. This Big Story has everything you need to know about that case.

What happened now: In September, Yati Narsinghanand—the priest of a temple in Ghaziabad—made a derogatory comment about Prophet Muhammad during a sermon. The incident sparked protests by Muslim groups. Zubair soon posted a clip of those remarks—demanding action against Narshinghanand. He has now been charged for threatening India’s sovereignty and unity—-along with a host of computer-related offenses.

Reminder: This is hardly the first time he has called out Islamophobia. Back in 2022, Zubair shared a clip of a BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma making offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad on television—which sparked protests and a diplomatic incident. Zubair currently faces a variety of charges in seven cases.

What’s notable this time: Zubair was first charged with promoting religious enmity—much like the older case. But the FIR was updated to include Section 152 of the revised Indian Penal Code—which is far more serious.

About Section 152: The dreaded sedition clause in the old Indian Penal Code—Section 124A—was scrapped by the government—after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. It was replaced by Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill—which is vague, draconian—and open to severe abuse. Here’s how it defines acts that put India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity in danger:

Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial mean, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Zubair’s arrest confirms the worst fears of critics—who warned the law will be weaponised to punish dissent.

What's next: The case is scheduled for a hearing on December 3. A must read: Our Big Story on the new sedition laws which are even stricter than its colonial counterpart. (Bar and Bench, paywalled, Scroll)

Finally, a new treatment for asthma!

A new injection could revolutionise treatment for asthma and episodes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is far more effective than steroid drugs in treating attacks—making you 30% less likely to need further treatment. Here’s how Benralizumab works:

Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets specific white blood cells, called eosinophils, to reduce lung inflammation. It is used as a repeat treatment for severe asthma at a low dose, but the trial found a higher single dose could be very effective if injected at the time of a flare-up.

But, but, but: It is still undergoing clinical trials—and won’t be on the market for a couple of years.

Why doctors are excited: It is the first new treatment for asthma in 50 years. Existing drugs like prednisolone or montelukast come with severe side effects, such as diabetes, osteoporosis and mental health disorders. Reminder: 35 million Indians suffer from the disease. (The Guardian)

Australia has a legal age for social media

There’s now a legal age for drinking, driving, voting—and getting an Insta account. The parliament passed a bill banning all social media for children under the age of 16. The aim: “to protect the mental health and well-being of children from detrimental effects of social media, such as online hate or bullying.” What this means: Social media platforms will have to find a way to enforce the law. They will have to pay 49.5 million Australian dollars (about $32 million) in fines for “systemic” failures to do so.

But, but, but: The kids and their parents are exempt—so it’s more like underage drinking. Nothing happens to the kids—but the bars and liquor stores get in trouble for not carding their customers. That said, enforcement will be much trickier since the law specifies that users will not be forced to provide government identification to verify their age. In the US, for example, people show their driving license. New York Times (splainer gift link) lays out the debate over an age ban.

A rebellion against shrinkflation sanitary pads

Chinese women are furious that companies are selling them pads that are far shorter than advertised. Some are smaller by as much as 17%. Their anger has spurred a full-blown campaign:

Women have called for boycotts of brands they deem to be of subpar quality, and shared guides to making reusable pads at home. Dozens of hashtags about the topic, such as “black-hearted pads” and “Is it so hard for sanitary pad producers to meet women’s needs?” have trended online.

State media outlets have also flagged the problem—but as an issue of consumer rights—not gender discrimination. As a result, brands are scrambling to respond—and promised to recall their pads to improve them.

Why this is notable: The Chinese government has been cracking down on any kind ‘feminist’ discourse—often targeting women’s groups. But it has been unable to silence tens of thousands of online users. (New York Times)

what caught our eye

business & tech

In big tech drama: the Zuck met the Donald at Mar-A-Lago in a possible thawing of relations. Trump was previously banned from Meta. Also: the internet wants to know what Elon Musk thinks of this—he had challenged the Zuck to a cage boxing match in July.
Coming soon: the first ever 24-hour stock exchange for round-the-clock trading, courtesy the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Alibaba has launched a Chinese rival to OpenAI’s best reasoning models. And it seems pretty good.

sports & entertainment

The Pakistan Cricket Board has rejected the ICC's “hybrid model” for the 2025 Champions Trophy, insisting it be held entirely in Pakistan—despite India’s refusal to travel there.
Records are tumbling in the ongoing Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban—Sri Lanka were bowled out for 42, their lowest ever total. The chief architect: Marco Jansen, whose figures of 7-13 are the best in World Test Championship (WTC) history.
The Guardian has a good read on Australia’s ‘mission improbable’ ahead of the next Test against India—to crack Jasprit Bumrah in ten days.
Fans of Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United are uniting to protest rising ticket prices and demand fairer treatment for supporters.
According to a new study, players in the 2026 FIFA World Cup—to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico—are at risk of extreme heat stress.
Iga Świątek was suspended for a month after a banned substance was found in contaminated melatonin she took for sleep.
Some of the highest-paid Indian actors in 2024 are South Indian. Allu Arjun, leads the list, charging up to Rs 300 crore per movie.
The Weeknd fans, get hyped! The singer will release a new album on January 24 coinciding with his one-off release show.
Sean Combs, aka Diddy, has been denied bail for the third time after his arrest on numerous charges of sexual abuse.
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” has tied with “Old Town Road” for the record of most weeks spent at the top of Billboard Hot 100 chart.

as for the rest

Bangladesh plans to charge ousted PM Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Pakistani journalist—Matiullah Jan—has been charged with terrorism for reporting on human rights abuses against pro-Imran Khan protesters.
Reuters has an interactive must-read on Russia’s new missile, ‘Oreshnik’.
Is Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine really a response to strikes with US-made drones?
Ven Ajahn Siripanyo, the only son of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan, has renounced his claim to the $5 billion empire to live as a monk.
New York Times via Economic Times has a must-read on how the leak of a police constable exam paper exposed a $20,000 plot that disrupted 5 million government job aspirants' dreams.
The Indian Navy carried out the test firing of the 3,500 km K-4 ballistic missile from the newly-inducted nuclear submarine INS Arighaat.
Three men in UP died after Google Maps reportedly sent them on to an unfinished bridge at night.
USA Today has a must-read on the latest college student sex trend—using honey packets as supplements for sexual enhancement.
BBC News has a must-read on the families fleeing Delhi to escape deadly smog.

Two things to see

One: Jackie Chan is back! The historical fantasy movie ‘A Legend’ is a sequel to 2005 movie ‘The Myth’—yup, the one with Mallika Sherawat. The notable bit: Filmmakers have used AI to de-age the actor. He looks way better than Harrison ‘zombie’ Ford in the last Indiana Jones. (ScreenRant)

Two: ‘Toxic’ scored the Golden Peacock award for Best Film at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It is the debut feature of Lithuanian filmmaker Saulė Bliuvaitė—lauded for “exploring adolescence and the harsh realities of growing up in an economically deprived society.” (The Hindu)

Takshashila: A doorway to public policy

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