The Australian government introduced what it’s called “world-leading” legislation in parliament this week to wipe social media accounts – including Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and X – from the devices of children under 16.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday social media firms would be required to destroy personal data used to verify ages of users, as part of what the government says is a world-leading ban on under-16s using the services.

Legislation for the world's first legal ban on children under 16 using social media has been introduced in Australia's Parliament.

An advocate for major social media platforms has told Australia's Parliament that a plan to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed rather than being rushed to approval this week

A law proposed in parliament would ban social media access for all children under the age of 16, placing stiff fines on platforms that don't comply. While I'll admit most social media does little more than turn our gray matter into Nickelodeon slime,

The legislation would impose fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.

Social media sites are lobbying the Australian government to delay its proposed age limits for children younger than 16. View on euronews

In 2019, Australian teenager Leonardo Puglisi founded a streaming news channel when he was just 11 years old. Now at the age of 17, he is about to witness his country's planned ban of social media use for those under 16,

The law could lead to fines up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on social media platforms if they don't prevent children from having accounts