The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The opposition party says it would have done the same after winning elections due within months if the government hadn’t moved first.

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.

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.

Google and Facebook-owner Meta Platforms urged the Australian government on Tuesday to delay a bill that will ban most forms of social media for children under 16, saying more time was needed to assess its potential impact.

The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media to protect them from harm has won almost universal political support

It is one of number of tech firms pushing back against Australia's plan to ban social media for under-16s.