Meta urges Australian government to delay bill banning under-16s from social media

The law would force social media platforms, and not parents or children, to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place

Meta said: 'In its present form, the bill is inconsistent and ineffective.' File photo: AP/Thibault Camus,

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

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government wants to pass the bill, which represents some of the toughest controls on children's social media use imposed by any country, into law by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.