Under 16? No phone then

Companies like Facebook, TikTok and Elon Musk's X would face penalties.

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Australia's prime minister vowed to ban children under 16 from social media, saying the pervasive influence of platforms like Facebook and TikTok was "doing real harm to our kids".

The tech giants would be held responsible for enforcing the age limit and face hefty fines if regulators notice young users slipping through the cracks, Anthony Albanese said yesterday.

Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media and the proposed age limit would be among the world's strictest measures aimed at children.

"This one is for the moms and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids and I'm calling time on it," Albanese said.

The new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week, before being introduced to parliament later this month.

Once passed, the tech platforms would be given a one-year grace period to figure out how to implement and enforce the ban.