SYDNEY, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Australia said on Tuesday it

planned to introduce legislation this year to ban children from

using social media platforms, citing the risks it could pose to

physical and mental health.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his centre-left

government would begin an age verification trial over the next

few months.

"I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy

fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts. We want

them to have real experiences with real people because we know

that social media is causing social harm," Albanese told

national broadcaster ABC News.

He did not specify the age limits for the ban but said

he was "looking at the range between 14 and 16."

Albanese said he was concerned about the impacts of cyber

bullying on the mental health of children and the easy exposure

to content on social media that could harm them.

The move comes after Australia's eSafety regulator in July

asked internet firms to come up with an enforceable code

detailing how it will stop children seeing pornography and other

inappropriate material, or face having a code imposed on the

industry.

Several countries have been trying to restrict social media

use by minors but legal challenges and technology, such as

virtual private networks that disguise locations, have hampered

efforts by governments.

"This is a global issue that governments around the globe

are trying to deal with ... we know that it's not simple and

it's not easy, otherwise governments would have responded

before," Albanese said.