Australia’s parliament today gave the “green light” to a bill that would ban access to social networking sites by minors under the age of 16.

The draft law will now be debated in the Senate.

Under this proposal, which was promoted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram would have to take steps to prevent under-16s from gaining access. If they do not comply with their obligation they will be fined up to 31 million euros.

Many platforms denounced a “hasty” decision, expressing “serious concerns” about the “unforeseen consequences” it could have.

The bill was approved by a vote of 102 to 13. It has not yet been determined when it will be discussed in the Senate.

Before the vote Albanese said that social networks are “a platform that favors social pressures, an engine of stress, a channel for fraudsters and, worst of all, a tool for online predators”.

Australia is at the forefront of countries taking steps to protect children online. The proposed age limit is one of the strictest in the world, but how the proposals will be implemented remains unclear.

The text, after being amended by parliament, now requires the tech giants to ask their new users for an ID document proving their age. If the bill is eventually passed, companies will have one year to implement the measures.

Some analysts, however, question whether an age-based access ban is technically possible. University of Sydney digital communications professor Terry Flew said the bill could end up being a “symbolic move”.

Many countries and territories have already decided to set a minimum age for access to the platforms. In Florida, the law that will go into effect in January prohibits young people under the age of 14 from opening an account, but it is not yet clear how this will be done. In Spain, the government presented a similar bill in June, which has not yet been debated. It provides for the prohibition of access to minors under 16 years of age. China, as of 2021, has placed restrictions on minors’ access and requires age verification by showing ID. Children under the age of 14 are not allowed to spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), and the time children and teenagers spend on online games is limited.