Today's Show Transcript

---

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: 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 stopped 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 TikTok 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Teenagers, Noah and Macy are taking their government to court in a fight to stay on social media.
NOAH JONES, PLAINTIFF: Taking away how we communicate to the world. This is how we do it. It's modern day. It's social media.
WATSON (voice-over): 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 and Noah's case asserts a right to political communication. The High Court has agreed to hear it next year.
WATSON: So, what will you lose when social media is taken away from you?
MACY NEYLAND, PLAINTIFF: 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.
JONES: 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.
WATSON (voice-over): The government says it has acted to protect children from potentially harmful content, harmful people and addictive algorithms.
JULIE INMAN GRANT, AUSTRALIAN E-SAFETY COMMISSIONER: 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?
WATSON (voice-over): 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 sixteens off their platforms and threatening fines in the tens of millions of dollars.
Tech companies say they are already building safer systems. A.I. face detectors will likely be employed to verify age with tools provided by third party companies like VerifyMy. Users may also be asked to upload their identity documents.
ANDY LULHAM, VERIFYMY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Australia is certainly leading the way when it comes to requiring an age check for every user to determine that they are over 16 or not.
WATSON (on camera): 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.
WATSON (voice-over): The students at All Saints Anglican School on Australia's Gold Coast are learning from cyber safety advocate Kirra Pendergast about how to best avoid danger on social media.
KIRRA PENDERGAST, CTRL+SHIFT CHIEF DIGITAL STRATEGIST: Because it is a delay. It's not a flat out ban. They're not banning the internet, and 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.
WATSON (voice-over): In their final year, Nicholas (ph) and Ruby wonder if maybe their school career would have been easier without the distraction of social media.
RUBY PETTY, ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN SCHOOL CAPTAIN: Nick (ph) 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.
WATSON (voice-over): 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Pop quiz, hot shot.
Before making a name for herself during the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, what was Rosa Parks' 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.
Seventy 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 boycotts, and that ultimately ended segregation on public transportation. Thrusting Parks into the history books forever.
Now, seven decades later, some never before seen 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 Herron, show Miss Parks at the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery nearly a decade after her famous act of civil disobedience. The five-day, 54-mile trek was a key moment in the civil rights movement, often seen as a galvanizing momentum that led to the U.S. 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 Louvre 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. Unfortunately, these are not the only copies of the damaged books still in existence.
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 Emmeline Frace, 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, Emmeline. Keep on auditioning and keep shining.
Next, we head to Scarsdale, New York, where Myles Huang, 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. Myles won second place at the USA Diving Junior Nationals. That's the way to rise up, Myles.
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 Kesem, 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, Katherine. 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 at cnn.com.
Congrats to today's Your Word Wednesday winner, Mrs. Perales at Wakonda 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 riff. This is going to be decking the halls.
Rise up. Thanks to everyone for spending part of your day with us. Go make someone smile today. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
END

CNN 10's Weekly News Quiz

---