Australia nears social media ban for children after heated debate

FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia moved closer on Wednesday to banning social media for children under 16 after the parliament's lower house passed a bill even as Alphabet's Google and Facebook-owner Meta pressed the government to delay the legislation.

Marking some of the toughest social media controls in the world, Australia's House of Representatives passed the bill 102 votes to 13 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labor government secured bipartisan support for the ban.