Accordingly, on November 26, "technology giants" Google and Meta - Facebook's parent company, called on the Australian Government to postpone the bill banning children under 16 from using most social networks. They said that the government of this country needs more time to assess the potential impact of this bill.
This move comes as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to pass the bill on November 28.
According to Google and Meta, the Australian Government should wait for the results of the age verification trial before passing the bill. The age verification system could include biometrics or government identification information to implement age restrictions on social media use.
Meta representatives argued that without the results of the age verification trial, social networks and Australians would not understand the nature or scale of the need to ensure user age, as well as the impact of this measure.
It is known that the above bill, if passed into law, will force social media platforms to take reasonable measures to protect children whose age has been verified.
Social media companies could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about 32 million USD) for breaching the law.
