Australia is moving closer to implementing what could be the world’s first national ban on social media use by children under 16, marking a potential setback for major platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and TikTok.

Some age-checking applications collect too much data and no product works 100% of the time, but using software to enforce a teenage social media ban can work in Australia, the head of the world's biggest trial of the technology said on Friday.

Australia's world-leading ban on under-16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle on June 20 as a trial found digital age checks can work "robustly and effectively".