The Trump administration on Monday unveiled a new initiative dubbed the "U.S. Tech Force," comprising about 1,000 engineers and other specialists who will work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and other technology projects throughout the federal government. Participants will commit to a two-year employment program working with teams that report directly to agency leaders in "collaboration with leading technology companies," according to an official government website. Those "private sector partners" include Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google Public Sector, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce and numerous others, the website says. The Tech Force shows the Trump administration increasing its focus on developing America's AI infrastructure as it competes with China for dominance in the rapidly growing industry. The initiative was announced four days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at establishing a national AI policy framework — a priority for industry leaders who opposed states crafting their own regulations. Once Tech Force members complete their two terms, they can seek full-time jobs with those companies, who have committed to consider the programs' alumni for employment. The private partners can also nominate their employees to do stints of government service. Annual salaries will likely fall in the range of $150,000 to $200,000, plus benefits. "We're trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems," U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday morning. The engineering corps will be working on "high-impact technology initiatives including AI implementation, application development, data modernization, and digital service delivery across federal agencies," the site says. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

President Donald Trump slammed Rob Reiner on Monday morning, a day after the famed Hollywood director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found brutally slain in their Los Angeles home. Trump's social-media screed against Reiner, who was a staunch critic of the president, came as the Reiners' 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested and held on $4 million bond, according to LA County Sheriff's Department jail records. That online record for Nick Reiner did not show any charges. Trump suggested that the couple was killed because of "the anger" Rob Reiner caused in other people due to his opposition to the president. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case, and the police have not provided any motive. "A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS," Trump wrote. "He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before," the president wrote. "May Rob and Michele rest in peace!" Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, called out Trump for his post. "Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered," Massie wrote. "I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they're afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it," he added. Massie has been targeted by Trump for months after co-sponsoring a petition in the House that led to passage of a law directing the Justice Department to release its investigative files about notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump had opposed that law until the last minute. "Make no mistake; we have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy, and democracy completely leaves us," Reiner said in that interview. There will be committee chairs who will be able to hold meetings, and this is the last thing he wants." Reiner's movies included "This is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," and "A Few Good Men." Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Kevin Hassett's candidacy for the Federal Reserve chair, once seen by the market as almost a sure thing, has received some pushback by high-level people who have the ear of President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter. The pushback could help explain why interviews with candidates were cancelled in early December and then, at least for Warsh, rescheduled for last week. After telling reporters that he knew who he was going to pick for Fed chair, Trump surprised investors Friday when he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh had moved to the top of the Fed candidates list alongside Hassett. "I think the two Kevins are great," said Trump. Hassett remains the favorite on Kalshi Monday with a 51% chance, although that's down from a high above 80% earlier this month. Warsh's odds are currently 44%, up from around 11% to start December. The pushback has taken more of the form of promoting Warsh, rather than criticizing Hassett. On Thursday at a JPMorgan event, CEO Jamie Dimon spoke favorably of both Hassett and Warsh, but made some comments that made those in the audience believe that Dimon favored the former Fed governor. Bloomberg News reported at the end of November that Hassett had emerged as the frontrunner to replace Powell, whose term ends in May. But as December wore on, according to several sources, Hassett's candidacy received some resistance, with worries growing that the bond market could revolt over time if it sees him as too much in the pocket of Trump. That view could end up having the opposite effect Trump wants, with long-term yields eventually rising on concern Hassett wouldn't do enough to contain inflation should it ever rebound down the road. Perhaps in response to some of this criticism, Hassett was more firm on the question of Fed independence in an interview with CBS News this past weekend. Trump "has very strong and well-founded views about what we ought to do. When asked if the president's view would carry the same weight as a voting central bank member, Hassett said: "No, no, he would have no weight. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Joshua publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This essay is based on a conversation with Jan Gerber, 44, who runs the Paracelsus Recovery clinic in Zurich. Business Insider has verified his admission to another Swiss clinic for burnout. The piece has been edited for length and clarity. I had almost lost my company, my marriage was falling apart, and it felt like everything hit all at once. About six months later, that December, I checked myself into an inpatient program in Zurich, where I was diagnosed with acute depression brought on by stress. At the time, I had spent 12 years helping other people recover from burnout, depression, and addiction. I'm the founder of Paracelsus Recovery, a private clinic in Zurich that treats executives, founders, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals who require discreet and private care. Check out their stories below and share yours here. I was an ambitious Amazon exec who solved my burnout without skipping a beat at work. I won't let the job market break my spirit anymore. It all started when a friend of a friend, the CEO of a major, publicly listed corporation, called my parents, who worked in the mental health space, for help, and moved into their guest room for treatment. So, the entrepreneur in me realized there was a niche here: offering discreet treatment for people who couldn't just go to any old rehab. In 2011, I co-founded a clinic in the high-end mental health space with my mother and then step-father, which initially offered one-on-one care. In the early years of Paracelsus Recovery, we had a small number of clients, but it took years to establish a reputation. The high cost is a big hurdle for potential clients. We primarily find ultra-high-net-worth clients through family offices and membership organizations, such as Campden Wealth. About half are members of wealthy families, the second or third generation with trust funds who often don't develop a sense of purpose or drive. The other half is a mix of royalty, entertainers, entrepreneurs, founders, and top executives — those who have the funds to come to us. Often, burnout is not solely prompted by the number of hours worked, but also by the responsibility of overseeing thousands of employees, investors, and business partners, which weighs heavily on their shoulders. If you're in the public eye or run a public company, where, for example, earnings aren't meeting expectations, that can also have a significant impact on stress levels. The average worker typically seeks burnout treatment after a spouse, their kids, or employer tells them they can't show up late or get drunk every night anymore. Founders and professional executives tend to have much more to lose, and a network of people who help them conceal some of their issues. That was a massive red flag for me. By the time these CEOs seek treatment, it's often when a substance is involved, and it's showing up as a fatty liver or cardiovascular issues, coming from alcohol abuse, for example. We offer a 10-day program called an "Executive Detox." These programs don't solve everything, but they stabilize clients and buy them some time. On average, people stay with us for six weeks; however, in extreme cases, they may stay for six months or more. A week at Paracelsus Recovery costs around £100,000, or about $131,000. My own treatment at another clinic encouraged me to introduce treatments such as shiatsu and breath-work. For me, it mostly means that someone leaves equipped with the tools to live a better life. Treatment at a clinic like Paracelsus Recovery is what I consider an acute stabilization, while the real work happens afterward. If you continue to hold on for another week, another month, or step back halfway while the stress persists, you'll still crash. For the sake of business continuity, I had to hang on. I still feel brain fog from being burned out, and my memory is worse than it was. But my own experience, and my treatment at another clinic in Zurich, taught me about the value of proper inpatient treatment. At Paracelsus Recovery, we typically treat only three or four clients at a time, which makes for a warmer and more personal experience, whereas the Swiss Clinic I attended had a capacity of about 75 patients. Our patients stay in penthouse apartments with lake views, where most of their treatments take place. They have access to medical treatments, a midday IV to rebalance their biochemistry, as well as a personal trainer and private chef. Yes, the price tag is very high, but you get a lot for your money. Correction: December 15, 2025 — An earlier version of this article misquoted Jan Gerber's comments about people with trust funds.

In a letter sent to staffers on Monday, a copy of which was also filed publicly with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos said a combined Netflix-Warner Bros. is "pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator, and pro-growth." Netflix this month announced its intention to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and studio assets for an equity value of $72 billion, which would be the biggest acquisition in the streamer's history. Rival Paramount Skydance responded days later with a hostile bid to acquire all of WBD in a deal valued at around $108 billion. Peters and Sarandos addressed the hostile bid in the letter, saying it was to be expected but that Netflix has a solid deal in place. "It's great for our shareholders, great for consumers, and a strong way to create and protect jobs in the industry," they wrote. Its bid faces strong opposition in parts of Hollywood, where many have long harbored suspicions toward Netflix because of its business model that has upended traditional film and TV conventions. In particular, Netflix has favored a streaming-first distribution approach and has a practice of putting its movies in theaters for limited runs only. This has created tension with some big-name talent and movie theater owners. Sarandos previously said long, exclusive theatrical windows weren't "consumer-friendly," and that he thinks, over time, theatrical windows will continue to shrink. In terms of regulatory approval, both bidders have made the case that they have the clearest path to getting a deal through. Paramount chief David Ellison has said its combo would lead to less market concentration in streaming than Netflix's. Netflix, for its part, wants regulators to compare its market share to total TV watching time, including free platforms like YouTube. They say Netflix plus Warner Bros. would only be 9% of the US market, behind YouTube and Disney. Paramount's argument is that the market should be defined by paid streaming, which is growing and where Netflix stands to expand its dominance. David Ellison and his father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, are close to Trump, whereas Sarandos has long-standing ties to prominent Democrats. Still, Trump has publicly praised both Netflix and Sarandos. When it comes to jobs, Netflix has lobbied Trump that it would be a job saver, not a job killer, since it wouldn't be combining two big studios like Paramount would. Read the letter from Netflix co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos to staffers in full below: Our position hasn't changed: we strongly believe that Netflix and Warner Bros. joining forces will offer consumers more choice and value, allow the creative community to reach even more audiences with our combined distribution, and fuel our long-term growth. We made this deal because their deep portfolio of iconic franchises, expansive library, and strong studio capabilities will complement—not duplicate—our existing business. This is going to be a complex process over the next year or so and there's a lot we won't be able to share, but we did want to give you our thoughts on some of the most pressing questions we've heard since we connected last week. It's great for our shareholders, great for consumers, and a strong way to create and protect jobs in the industry. The fundamentals are clear: this deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator, and pro-growth. Also, if you look at it through the lens of Nielsen data, even after combining with Warner Bros., our view share would only move from 8% to 9% in the US—still well behind YouTube (13%) and a potential Paramount/WBD combination (14%). We believe the facts speak for themselves, and we're fully prepared to put ourselves in a strong position for approval. Will we preserve theatrical releases as part of WBD's distribution model? Yes—we're fully committed to releasing Warner Bros. movies in theaters, just as they do today. Theatrical is an important part of their business and legacy, and we don't want to change what makes Warner Bros. so valuable. If this deal had happened two years ago, hits like Minecraft and Superman would still have premiered on the big screen as they did—and that's how we plan to keep it. When this deal closes, we will be in that business. This deal is about growth: Warner Bros. brings businesses and capabilities we don't have, so there's no overlap or studio closures. We've got a small but mighty team of experts working on this so the rest of us can stay focused on the big 2026 ambitions we've established for our business. We've got huge potential still ahead of us—even before we factor in Warner Bros.—so our focus should remain on realizing that potential based on our organic growth. We know that's easier said than done with all the headlines and speculation, but continuing to deliver for our members is the best thing we can focus on. We've launched a public site as our source of truth for external audiences—which will be updated further—and it's a resource you can share with friends and family who might have their own questions. You can also listen to our UBS webcast from earlier this week.

Thrive Holdings, launched by OpenAI and Stripe investor Thrive Capital, announced on Monday that it's tapped Palantir veteran Jim Siders to serve as CEO of Shield Technology Partners, a newly created business focused on IT services. Siders spent more than 12 years at Palantir, where he most recently served as chief information officer, overseeing global IT operations, business applications and infrastructure. He began his career at the company as an IT helpdesk engineer. Thrive, founded by Josh Kushner, launched Thrive Holdings in April, creating a division to own and operate companies that it believes could benefit from technological transformations. Shield buys ownership stakes in IT services companies and tries to help them grow by giving them access to cutting-edge AI technology and engineering capabilities. "If we're doing this right, we're going to see a lot of value created all the way up the chain, from end customer all the way through to us here at Shield," Siders told CNBC in an interview. "These are great businesses, and they're going to be rising up even more." As of December, Shield works with seven companies and is expected to generate more than $100 million in revenue this year, Thrive said. Earlier this month, OpenAI announced it took an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings and will embed engineering, research and product teams within its companies. "We said, 'The way in which we're going to achieve the best results for our customers is if OpenAI is an owner in Thrive Holdings alongside us,'" Anuj Mehndiratta, a member of Thrive Holdings' founding team, said in an interview. "By being an owner, they will be enabled to actually focus on end outcomes in the same way that we are." Shield's ownership structure is based on a similar line of thinking. To help align incentives and encourage companies to participate, the IT services organizations that Shield backs retain equity in their companies. Siders kicks off his tenure as Shield CEO on Monday, and he said his initial focus will be on understanding its existing partners and searching for potential targets. He said Shield will be ambitious in the next few quarters. "There's a whole industry out there, people who've spent their careers trying to deliver this value for everybody's benefit," Siders said. "This is a unique and special thing to attack that." Correction: A prior version of this story mischaracterized part of the agreement between Shield and the organizations it backs. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Rotation was the word on Wall Street's lips last week as investors iced out high-flying artificial intelligence stocks in favor of more traditional and cyclical names. Now, the question is whether that divergence will continue, as focus shifts to upcoming inflation and employment data. Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh has made his way to the top of Trump's list of candidates to lead the central bank. Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that Warsh is a top contender for the role, joining National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as a front-runner to succeed Jerome Powell. Trump also repeated his belief that the next Fed chair should consult the president on interest rate decisions, saying, "I'm a smart voice and should be listened to." A new CNBC investigation found that in the midst of this fall's record-setting government shutdown, dozens of U.S. Food and Drug Administration staffers traveled to a Singapore resort. Thirty-one staffers ranging from deputy directors to a program coordinator traveled to Singapore in mid-November to attend a conference of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, according to internal FDA documents obtained by CNBC. In total, the trip cost the agency more than a quarter of a million dollars, or nearly $8,000 per attendee. In a statement to CNBC, the FDA said that sending employees to the conference was "mission critical." A spokesperson for the agency also noted that this year's delegation of staffers was smaller than that of the past two years. Trump wants to make domestic shipbuilding great again, but as CNBC's Lori Ann LaRocco reports, he'll need help from international companies. China wins as much as 75% of new ship orders and has more than 200 times the building capacity of the U.S., data shows. There are currently eight active U.S. shipyards, compared to China's more than 300. As it tries to bolster the U.S. shipbuilding industry and make up ground, the Trump administration is tapping companies like South Korea's Hanwha through investment deals. As Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at Xeneta, told CNBC: "When you look at the orders, making American shipbuilding great again is a tall order. Foreign expertise needs to be brought in." CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning. As CNBC's Sarah Whitten reports, the streaming giant has launched dozens of partnerships across merchandise and food tied to the 9-year-old series. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the franchise was akin to a "'Star Wars' moment" for the streamer, given the show's role in shaping pop culture and leading to live events. Here's what we're keeping an eye on this week: CNBC Pro subscribers can see a calendar and rundown for the week here. — CNBC's Sean Conlon, Brandon Gomez, Jeff Cox, Paige Tortorelli, Scott Zamost, Melissa Lee, Jeff Cox, Lori Ann LaRocco and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

SINGAPORE — Sentosa Island boasts the luxury, five-star Ora and Michael hotels, with palm-tree-lined pools, lobbies flanked with luxury stores, and a casino that adjoins both hotels and buzzes with gamblers. Internal FDA records obtained by CNBC show 31 agency staffers traveled to Singapore in mid-November for a conference of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, or ICH — a trip that cost more than a quarter of a million dollars, or upward of $8,000 per person, according to the documents. The FDA is under significant pressure. Nearly 1,900 staffers were laid off, and around 1,200 others took early retirement packages, according to May testimony from FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. In addition, senior leadership has been in upheaval, and former FDA chiefs have publicly questioned the agency's handling of key issues such as vaccine policy. The FDA attendees at the Singapore conference ranged from deputy directors to a program coordinator, records show. The ICH, registered as a nonprofit under Swiss law, says it aims to unify the global standards for drug development and approval. The conference, held Nov. 18-19, took place in a series of meeting rooms on the island resort grounds. ICH told CNBC in an email that "approximately 500 people attended in person," including regulators and pharmaceutical industry experts from around the world. It also wrote that the "FDA is one of the founding members of ICH" and helps develop the requirements for "safe, effective, and high-quality pharmaceuticals." As part of the November assembly, three guidelines were adopted that aim to streamline global drug development and safety monitoring, according to the ICH. In a follow-up email, the organization said the first guideline provides a template to eliminate "inconsistent formats" in clinical trial protocols and ease electronic data sharing. The second seeks to ensure post-approval safety reports are "complete, accurate and timely" by aligning definitions and reporting practices, it said. The third adopted guideline sets international standards for noninterventional, real-world data studies to ensure they are "scientifically sound" and comparable across regulators. The FDA said in a statement to CNBC that sending staffers to the meeting was "mission critical" and that the purpose of the conference was to "support global alignment on drug development, approval standards, and regulatory science." Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president of policy and government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group that champions government accountability, said the optics of sending dozens of FDA staffers to an overseas conference during a government shutdown are not good. "FDA is a critical organization that does really important work as far as our health-care system, our food system, our medical device system," Hedtler-Gaudette said. "I would hope that FDA leadership and the administration would place a higher degree of priority on making sure the organization, the agency is resourced completely rather than needing to attend specific conferences or events." Hedtler-Gaudette said that even if the conference is important, that does little to quiet questions about the agency's priorities. "At a minimum, it's a kind of bad look and it's poor optics," Hedtler-Gaudette said. The FDA told CNBC the trip did not rely on taxpayer dollars, saying it was funded through the agency's carryover user fees — money collected from companies that make drugs, devices and other medical products to pay for regulatory work such as product reviews and inspections. "They still need to be treated and guarded with as much respect as direct tax dollars do." An internal email from Butler, dated Oct. 1, said user fees should be applied only to work that is permitted to be funded by user fee carryover and "activities that are necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life or protect property." The FDA itself seemed to be aware that any travel during the shutdown could be poorly received. "Due to the optics of business travel conducted during a shutdown, conference approval will be handled by FDA's senior leadership on a case-by-case basis," the FDA said in a document that was posted on its website as recently as mid-November. "The agency routinely updates its webpages to ensure information remains accurate and consistent with current policy," an FDA spokesperson told CNBC. In an internal email chain between FDA directors and Chief Financial Officer Benjamin Moncarz, obtained by CNBC, Director Michelle Tarver sought to "come to an agreement for legal and optics consistency on how we are handling travel during the lapse in appropriations." She went on to say that the FDA would "allow virtual speaking on exempt (i.e., user fee) topics only." In the email, FDA Deputy Chief Financial Officer Sahra Torres-Rivera wrote that the agency had "agreed to limit in-person participation at conferences" but noted that "the final decision ultimately rests with ... Next year, the biannual conference will be held in Rio de Janeiro and Prague. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

European defense companies fell on Monday as talks over a potential peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine took a new turn. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Ukraine was prepared to abandon the country's longstanding aim of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for alternative security guarantees to protect it from Russia. Joining NATO is unlikely given some members' opposition, but the announcement marks a major policy shift by Ukraine. Rheinmetall, Germany's largest arms manufacturer, traded 1.9% lower at 2:48 p.m. in London (9:48 a.m. The company, which also makes air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, and ammunition, led the sector's losses, as German counterparts Hensoldt and Renk slipped into negative territory. Hensoldt, the military technology and surveillance specialist, was 1% off in afternoon deals, while tank maker Renk traded 1.1% lower. Swedish fighter jet manufacturer Saab traded slightly lower. Zelenskyy's offer to ditch Ukraine's long-term NATO ambitions came during talks with U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which are continuing this week. Kyiv is now seeking separate security guarantees from the West, which it sees as vital to any lasting ceasefire. Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp discussion with reporters on Sunday that such security guarantees would "provide an opportunity to prevent another outbreak of Russian aggression." Russia remains steadfast in its opposition to any Ukrainian membership of NATO. Protracted discussions on how to end the near four-year-long conflict — which entered a second day in Berlin on Monday — have thrust the continent's defense industry back into the spotlight. The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense Index was last seen 0.3% higher on Monday, erasing earlier losses. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Lee Chong Ming publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Public-company CEOs say AI is creating more jobs in 2026, according to an annual outlook survey conducted by advisory firm Teneo released this month. The report said that firms are ramping up hiring in engineering and AI-related roles. Many existing jobs are being reconfigured or reassigned as certain tasks become increasingly automated. The survey, conducted between October 14 and November 10, gathered responses from more than 350 global CEOs leading public companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue, as well as about 400 institutional investors representing $19 trillion in portfolio value. The hiring momentum mirrors a broader surge in corporate AI investment. Sixty-eight percent of CEOs said they plan to increase AI spending next year, up from 66% in 2025. Nearly nine in 10 CEOs said AI is already helping their organizations navigate disruption. More than half of investors said they expect AI initiatives to show results in under six months. Fears that AI will eliminate human jobs have intensified as more companies announce layoffs tied to automation. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told CNN in October that the company is simultaneously shifting head count toward AI and quantum computing, and plans to ramp up hiring of college graduates in the next year. AI adoption has also driven demand for programmers and sales employees, he told The Wall Street Journal in May. AI has created new job categories as it reshapes old ones. These roles focus on guiding AI systems and enhancing human-AI collaboration.

Every time Lauren publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. A new law barring children under 16 from opening or maintaining social media accounts took effect last week in Australia, forcing platforms to deactivate accounts for swaths of young users. In the words of Taylor Swift, however, Reddit would very much like to be excluded from this narrative because, it says, it's not a social media platform. As part of the legal filing, Reddit also pushed back at being labeled an "age-restricted social media platform" within the meaning of Australia's law. Instead, Reddit said it "operates as a collection of public fora arranged by subject." The company added that, in most cases, users don't know each other's real identities. Users have the option to upvote or downvote posts and can send each other direct messages. While Reddit users can use their real names, most of them operate anonymously. The company went public in 2024 with a valuation of $6.4 billion. Australia's new law, which would place the onus on social media platforms to verify users' ages, has drawn criticism from other companies it targets as well, such as TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. Reddit, which says it is complying with the law, told its users that doing so could have unintended consequences. "This law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren't," the company said. Australia isn't the only country considering restricting social media use among young people. Malaysia plans to ban children under 16 from having social media accounts in 2026. In Norway and Denmark, lawmakers have proposed laws that would ban social media accounts for children under 15. A handful of US senators earlier this year introduced the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would bar social media platforms from allowing children under 13 years old to create or maintain accounts. The act would also bar platforms from using algorithms to target children under 17. It's now time for Congress to do the same and pass the Kids Off Social Media Act," Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a Democrat, said in a statement to Business Insider.