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Prime Minister willing to talk with Musk about social

media ban

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Trial of methods to enforce the ban starts in January

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Musk calls ban 'backdoor way to control access to the

Internet'

SYDNEY, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that criticism by Elon Musk of

Australia's social media ban on children under 16 was the X

owner pushing an agenda for the social platform, while

indicating he was open to talk to the billionaire about the ban,

legislated this week.

Australia approved the social media ban for children late on

Thursday after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation,

setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one

of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.

The ban, which the centre-left government says is

world-leading, could strain Australia's relationship with key

ally the United States, where Musk, a central figure in the

administration of president-elect Donald Trump, said in a post

this month it seemed a "backdoor way to control access to the

Internet by all Australians".

Albanese, asked on Sunday if he was prepared to talk to Musk

about the social media ban said: "We'll talk to anyone".

"With regard to Elon Musk, he has an agenda, he's entitled

to push that as the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter,"

Albanese added in remarks on Australian Broadcasting Corp.

television.

The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner

Meta, to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines

of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). A trial of enforcement

methods starts in January with the ban to take effect in a year.

"We are determined to get this done, the parliament has

overwhelmingly passed this legislation," Albanese told the

broadcaster.

X did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment

outside of business hours.

Albanese's Labor party won crucial support from the

opposition conservatives for the bill that was fast-tracked

through the country's parliament as part of 31 bills pushed

through in a chaotic final day of parliament for the year.