Australia nears social media ban for children after heated debate

Australia moved closer on Wednesday to banning social media for children under 16 after the parliament's lower house passed a bill even as Alphabet and Meta pressed the government to delay the legislation.

Marking some of the toughest social media controls in the world, Australia's House of Representatives passed the bill 102 votes to 13 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor government secured bipartisan support for the ban.

The Senate is expected to debate the bill later on Wednesday, with the government keen to ensure it is passed by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.

Albanese has argued that excessive use of social media poses risks to the physical and mental health of children and is looking for support from parents.

The planned law would force social media platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place. Companies could be fined up to A.5 million ( million) for systemic breaches.

Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce the ban.

A Senate committee backed the bill this week but also inserted a condition that social media platforms should not force users to submit personal data such as passport and other digital identification to prove their age.

The committee added that the government must "meaningfully engage" with youth when framing the law.

"Young people, and in particular diverse cohorts, must be at the center of the conversation as an age restriction is implemented to ensure there are constructive pathways for connection," committee chair Senator Karen Grogan said.

In submissions to parliament, Google and Meta said the ban should be delayed until the age-verification trial finishes, expected in mid-2025. Bytedance's TikTok said the bill needed more consultation, while Elon Musk's X said the proposed law might hurt children's human rights.

Impact on families

The ban was first announced during an emotionally charged parliamentary inquiry into social media, which included testimony from parents of children who had self-harmed due to cyberbullying.

It has fueled vigorous debate with youth advocates arguing it robs children of a voice and parent groups saying under-16s are too young to navigate the digital world.

Teenagers have said the law could cut them off from their most important social and family connections, arguing a ban is not the solution.

"I understand that using social media a lot is not a good thing and I'm working on it," said Sydney high school student Enie Lam, 16. "But a ban is not going to work," she said.

Still, polling shows public support is overwhelmingly in favor of the move. A YouGov survey released this week showed 77 percent of Australians backed the ban, up from 61 percent in August.

Australian media, from the publicly owned Australian Broadcasting Corp to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp also support the ban. An editorial campaign by News Corp, the country's biggest newspaper publisher, pushed for the ban under the banner "Let Them Be Kids".

"Our members feel that this is one of the biggest issues impacting on themselves and their families at the moment," said Jenny Branch-Allen, president of the Australian Parents Council, an advocacy group.

"Big companies have to start taking responsibility. Let's try and reduce the incidents we're hearing involved with social media and young people in Australia."

(With input from Reuters)