Since Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen aired internal emails in 2021 showing the tech giant knew of social media's mental health impacts on teenagers, world leaders have agonised over how to curb the technology's addictive pull on young minds.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian Senate passes social media ban for young children, which will soon become a world-first law.

By Alasdair Pal SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that social media platforms now have a responsibility to ensure the safety of children, after the country's parliament passed a bill banning those under the age of 16 from using the services.

The Australian Senate has passed a social media ban for young children that will soon become a world-first law

Australia's lawmakers have voted to ban those under the age of 16 from using social media—even if their parents are okay with it. On Friday morning, Australia’s house of representatives approved the bill with bipartisan support,

The world's first social media ban for children under 16 was hailed Australia's Prime Minister, but critics said it does nothing to address harmful content existing on the internet, saying children "absolutely will bypass it".

Australians reacted on Friday with a mixture of anger and relief to a social media ban on children under 16 that the government says is world-leading, but which tech giants like TikTok argue could push young people to "darker corners of the internet".