The new law will deliver a message to tech companies to "clean up their act," the country's prime minister has said.

The landmark Social Media Minimum Age bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments. But opponents warn that young people may be driven to unsafe parts of the web.

Australia’s controversial new law barring under-16s from social media is one of the toughest crackdowns yet on platforms including Facebook and TikTok as governments worldwide grasp for ways to protect children from harmful content.