07:21 AM EST, 11/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Australia's lower house passed a bill to ban social media for children under 16, despite objections from Meta (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL), which called for delays until age-verification trials conclude in 2025, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The report said Australia's House of Representatives passed the bill 102 votes to 13 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor government secured bipartisan support for the ban.

It added that the law mandates platforms to implement age-verification systems and imposes fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars for violations.

The Senate will debate the bill this week, with the government pushing for its passage before the parliamentary year ends, according to Reuters.

The Senate committee backed the measure but urged safeguards against mandatory personal data submissions and called for youth engagement in its rollout.

Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce the ban, the report said.

Major platforms like Google ( GOOG ), Meta, and TikTok have criticized the bill, calling for delays until an age-verification trial ends in mid-2025, the report said, adding Elon Musk's X argues the law could infringe on children's rights.

Google ( GOOG ) and Meta did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)