YouTube will be included in the first global social media ban in Australia for children under the age of 16, after the government abandoned a previous exemption for the platform.
The video sharing site was set to be excluded from the ban – which will limit Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and is scheduled to start in December.
Under the ban, teenagers will continue to display YouTube videos but will not be allowed to obtain an account, which is required to download content or interact on the platform.
He said in the statement on Wednesday that YouTube – owned by Google – argued that it should not be banned for children as a platform “providing benefit and value to the younger Australians”: “It is not social media.”
Australia’s laws are monitored with great interest by global leaders, as Norway has announced a similar ban and the United Kingdom says it is studying its example.
“Social media is harmful to our children, and I want the Australian parents to know that we have their backs,” Prime Minister Anthony Albaniz told the media on Wednesday.
“We know this is not the only solution, but it will make a difference,” he said.
Australian Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant recommended last month that YouTube was added to the ban, as it was the “most martyred platform” as children between the ages of 10 and 15 witnessed “harmful content.”
After Windesday’s announcement, YouTube spokesman said that he “will look at the following steps” and “continue to participate” with the government.
Last week, several Australian media reported that Google was threatening to prosecute the government if YouTube was included in the embargo, on the pretext that it would restrict political freedom.
“Although there is a place for social media,” there is no place for predatory algorithms targeting children. “
She described an attempt to protect children from Internet damage as “like an attempt to teach your children to swim in the open ocean with Rips and sharks compared to the swimming of the local council.”
She said: “We cannot control the ocean, but the shark police can be the reason why we will not be afraid of legal threats when this is a real battle for the welfare of Australian children.”
Wales said that the exceptions to the ban will include “online games, messages, educational applications and health” because they “are less than social media damage to less than 16 years.”
Under the ban, technology companies can fining up to 50 million dollars (32.5 million dollars; 25.7 million pounds) if they do not comply with age restrictions. They will need to cancel the activation of the current accounts and prohibit any new accounts, as well as stop any work about errors and correct errors.
More details are to be provided about how the new ban is working on the Federal Parliament on Wednesday.
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2025-07-30 01:24:00
