Coalition support is wavering over the social media ban for children under 16, as the public only has 24 hours to make their case.

Political editor Andrew Clennell broke the news on Tuesday as Albania’s government faced hesitant support for the ban despite previously expecting bipartisan approval.

Nationals senator Matt Canavan also confirmed he would switch parties, while Nationals MP Keith Pitt and senator Bridget Archer expressed reservations.

There appears to be a clear majority within the coalition in favor of the bill.

Mr Canavan called for further investigation and argued the bill needed substantial amendments on Tuesday.

The backlash extended beyond the Coalition, with a number of members from all sides, as well as the Greens and One Nation, criticizing the rushed nature of the bill.

The government only allowed 24 hours for the public to submit submissions in response to the legislation and around 15,000 submissions were submitted.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth denied the government rushed the bill through and called on the opposition to pass the ban on Tuesday.

“I thought there was bipartisan support… Just a few weeks ago, Peter Dutton said he would facilitate this important bill,” she told the Today show.

“Now we see the senators challenging him, I guess. So this is a test for Peter Dutton as to his leadership.

THE majority of submissions published within 24 hours – including from UNICEF, Amnesty International and Shooters Fishers & Farmers Tasmania – opposed the bill.

Although most agree that social media can harm young people, there has also been widespread criticism of the government’s blanket ban.

The Australian Human Rights Commission said social media provided young people with “opportunities for inclusion and participation”.

The Australian Free Speech Union also condemned the bill, calling it “draconian” and “authoritarian”, warning it could undermine fundamental rights to privacy online.

Digital Rights Watch also expressed concern that the legislation “inadequately protects privacy and data protection.”

Defending the bill, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland insisted it included “robust privacy protections”.

Meta head of security Antigone Davis recently told Sky News that the ban was missing “a deeper discussion about how we implement protections”.

“We are confident that parental approval and age verification at the OS and App Store level will provide a simple and effective solution,” he said.

The Digital Industry Group (DIGI), which represents tech giants like Meta, TikTok, Google and X, also told Sky News that the harms of a ban were as real as online harm.

“A 21st century response to these challenges is to keep young people safe while they are online,” Ms Bose said.

“A 20th century response aims to keep them away. »

The attempt to ban minors from accessing social networks includes Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.

YouTube, WhatsApp and Messenger Kids have been marked as exemption.

The legislation will make it illegal for children under 16 to access banned platforms unless they meet specific age verification criteria.

Social media companies will be threatened with fines of $50 million for consistently failing to comply with the ban.

The platforms will take responsibility and no penalties will be applied to underage users who circumvent the restrictions.

The ban will come into force 12 months after the law is passed by Parliament and will not be grandfathered, meaning children already connected to social media will also be banned.

This will impact millions of children and adolescents, as around 97 percent of young people use social media on four platforms on average, according to surveys.