Bill for under16s passed lower house 102 votes to 13
Senate will debate bill later on Wednesday
Govt wants bill to become law by end of parliament on Thursday

SYDNEY, Nov 27 Reuters Australia moved closer on Wednesday to banning social media for children under 16 after the parliament39;s lower house passed a bill even as Alphabet39;s Google and Facebookowner Meta pressed the government to delay the legislation.

Marking some of the toughest social media controls in the world, Australia39;s House of Representatives passed the bill 102 votes to 13 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese39;s centreleft 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, trying to lift his approval ratings ahead of an election expected in May, 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 ageverification protections are in place. Companies could be fined up to A49.5 million 32 million for systemic breaches.

Australia plans to trial an ageverification 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…