Australia is set to become the first country to ban social media for under-16s after its Senate approved new laws.
Under the legislation, tech giants such as TikTiok, Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, could face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for failing to prevent young children from having accounts on their platforms.
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 passed in a 34 votes to 19 vote in Australia's Senate on Thursday. The House of Representatives already approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13 on Wednesday.
The law has been supported by Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said in a statement last week that "social media is doing social harm."
"We know some kids will find workarounds, but we're sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act," he added.
Albanese has said X, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram will be included in the ban.
It is also not clear exactly which platforms will be covered by the ban. The prime minister has said that Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and X will be included, but YouTube and messaging apps including WhatsApp are expected to be exempt.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, accused it of being "rushed," reported the Associated Press.
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Ewan Palmer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ...
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