Oz leader 'ready for Elon' over online ban

Sydney - Australia's prime minister said yesterday he was ready to "engage" with billionaire X owner Elon Musk over his criticism of the government's ban on under-16s joining social media.

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Anthony Albanese hailed the parliament's Thursday passage of landmark legislation requiring social media firms to take "reasonable steps" to prevent young teens from having accounts.

The law, which will come into effect after 12 months, gives few details of how it will be enforced, including how sites like Facebook, Instagram and X will verify users' ages.

Musk - who has been named Donald Trump's government efficiency chief in the incoming US administration - posted on X last month that the law "seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians".