*

Google, Meta says bill should not precede age-verification

trial

*

Govt wants to pass bill into law by Thursday

*

TikTok says bill lacks clarity, needs more consultation

*

X says bill may negatively impact human rights of children

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Google and

Facebook-owner Meta Platforms ( META ) urged the Australian

government on Tuesday to delay a bill that will ban most forms

of social media for children under 16, saying more time was

needed to assess its potential impact.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government

wants to pass the bill, which represents some of the toughest

controls on children's social media use imposed by any country,

into law by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.

The bill was introduced in parliament last week and opened

for submissions of opinions for only one day.

Google and Meta said in their submissions that the

government should wait for the results of an age-verification

trial before going ahead.

The age-verification system may include biometrics or

government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off.

"In the absence of such results, neither industry nor

Australians will understand the nature or scale of age assurance

required by the bill, nor the impact of such measures on

Australians," Meta said.

"In its present form, the bill is inconsistent and

ineffective."

The law would force social media platforms, and not parents

or children, to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification

protections are in place. Companies could be fined up to A$49.5

million ($32 million) for systemic breaches.

The opposition Liberal party is expected to support the bill

though some independent lawmakers have accused the government of

rushing through the entire process in around a week.

A Senate committee responsible for communications

legislation is scheduled to deliver a report on Tuesday.

Bytedance's TikTok said the bill lacked clarity and that it

had "significant concerns" with the government's plan to pass

the bill without detailed consultation with experts, social

media platforms, mental health organisations and young people.

"Where novel policy is put forward, it's important that

legislation is drafted in a thorough and considered way, to

ensure it is able to achieve its stated intention. This has not

been the case with respect to this Bill," TikTok said.

Elon Musk's X raised concerns that the bill will negatively

impact the human rights of children and young people, including

their rights to freedom of expression and access to information.

The U.S. billionaire, who views himself as a champion of

free speech, last week attacked the Australian government saying

the bill seemed like a backdoor way to control access to the

internet.

($1 = 1.5454 Australian dollars)