MELBOURNE, Australia —
On Thursday, the Senate of Australia approved a landmark legislation aimed at prohibiting young children from using social media, marking it as a pioneering move globally.


This new law holds social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram accountable for significant penalties, reaching up to 50 million Australian dollars (approximately $33 million), should they fail to adequately prevent children under the age of 16 from creating accounts.


The Senate passed the legislation with a vote of 34 in favor and 19 against. Just a day prior, the House of Representatives showed strong support for the bill, voting 102 to 13 in its favor.


While the House has yet to approve some amendments proposed by the opposition during the Senate discussions, such a step is largely seen as a mere formality, as the government has indicated it will support the amendments.


With the law now in place, social media platforms will be given a one-year period to develop and implement the necessary measures to enforce this ban before any financial penalties can be applied.