04:38 AM EST, 12/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to add Google's ( GOOG ) response in the eighth paragraph.)

Australia passed a law Thursday banning anyone under 16 years old from accessing social media and imposing civil penalties on platforms that allow young people to create accounts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government said in a statement that new rules "place the onus on social media platforms - not young people or their parents - to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years of age from having accounts, and ensures systemic breaches will see platforms face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.2 million)."

Meta Platforms ( META ) , Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) YouTube ( GOOG ), Snap (SNAP), and other social media platforms vocally opposed the law as it was being discussed in parliament and spoke out after it was passed, media outlets reported.

"Last week, the parliament's own committee said the 'causal link with social media appears unclear,' with respect to the mental health of young Australians, whereas this week the rushed Senate Committee report pronounced that social media caused harm," Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said in a statement cited by Reuters.

Snapchat parent Snap said it would comply with the law but said "there are many unanswered questions about how this law will be implemented in practice," according to Reuters.

YouTube ( GOOG ) will not be impacted by the law because the platform is widely used for education in Australia, Reuters reported.

The government said the law will come into effect within one year, "allowing the necessary time for social media platforms to develop and implement required systems."

In a statement to MT Newswires, Google ( GOOG ) said it urged Canberra "to swiftly follow through on their commitment and pass legislative rules that clearly exempt YouTube ( GOOG ), thereby providing certainty to Australian families, creators, teachers and educators."

Meta and Snap did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' requests for comment.