Afternoon Update: under-16s social media shutdown begins; Starc lights up Ashes again; and Australia’s Spotify Wrapped wrap-up

Instagram and Facebook have started closing accounts ahead of Australia’s social media ban taking effect. Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

Good afternoon.

Facebook and Instagram began shutting down half a million accounts of users under 16 years old on Thursday as the deadline for the Albanese government’s social media ban looms. The Young Nationals have urged Labor to scrap the law entirely, arguing many children in regional and remote areas rely on social media to stay connected.