Australia's world-leading ban on under-16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle Friday as a trial found digital age checks can work "robustly and effectively." Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X could face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply with the legislation, which was passed in November., The preliminary findings of Australia’s Age Assurance Technology Trial “didn’t find a single ubiquitous solution” for the country’s incoming social media ban for under-16s, but trial , Australia’s world-first ban on social media access for under-16s is gaining traction, as results from a major age verification trial suggest the approach is both feasible and effective. The Age , SYDNEY (Reuters) -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 , 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 , .