Australia to outlaw YouTube accounts for teenagers
SYDNEY: Australia said yesterday it will add YouTube to sites covered by its world-first ban on social media for teenagers, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the Alphabet-owned video-sharing site and potentially setting up a legal challenge.
The decision came after the Internet regulator urged the government last month to overturn the YouTube carve-out, citing a survey that found 37 per cent of minors reported harmful content on the site, the worst showing for a social media platform.
"I'm calling time on it," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a statement highlighting that Australian children were being negatively affected by online platforms, and reminding social media of their social responsibility.
"I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs."
The decision broadens the ban set to take effect in December.
YouTube says it is used by nearly three-quarters of Australians aged 13 to 15, and should not be classified as social media because its main activity is hosting videos.
"Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It's not social media," said a YouTube spokesman by email.
The ban outlaws YouTube accounts for those younger than 16 but allows parents and teachers to show videos on it to minors.
"Teachers are always curators of any resource for appropriateness (and) will be judicious," said Angela Falkenberg, president of the Australian Primary Principals Association, which supports the ban.
Artificial intelligence had supercharged the spread of misinformation on social media platforms such as YouTube, said Adam Marre, chief information security officer at cyber security firm Arctic Wolf.
"The Australian government's move to regulate YouTube is an important step in pushing back against the unchecked power of big tech and protecting kids," he added in an email.
The law passed in November only requires "reasonable steps" by social media platforms to keep out Australians younger than 16, or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million.
The government, which is due to receive a report on tests of age-checking products, has said those results will influence enforcement of the ban. Reuters
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