SYDNEY — Australia on Wednesday (Nov 26) moved closer to banning social media for children under 16 after the parliament's lower house passed the bill even as Alphabet's Google and Facebook-owner Meta pressed the government to delay the legislation.

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.

The Senate is expected to debate the bill later on Wednesday, with the government keen to ensure it is passed by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.

Albanese, trying to lift his approval ratings ahead of an election expected in May, has argued that excessive use of social media poses risks to the physical and mental health of children and is looking for support from parents.

Media outlets, including News Corp have backed the ban.

Some youth advocates including Australia's human rights commission raised concerns the law would hurt children's rights to self-expression, but a YouGov survey released on Tuesday showed 77 per cent of Australians backed the ban, up from 61 per cent in an August survey.

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