Australia to include YouTube in ban on child social media ban
July 30 (UPI) -- The Australian government has announced that YouTube will be included in new legislation that bans children under the age of 16 from using social media.
The Labor government announced Wednesday that YouTube, will be age-limited just like social media platforms will be starting in December, when new legislation goes into effect that bans children under 16 from using them.
"Protecting kids online means taking on some tough problems, so we're banning social media accounts for under 16s," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted to X late Tuesday.
"Young Australians will benefit from three more years free from algorithms, to grow, to connect and to build resilience in the real world," he also said in the post.
The ban puts the main pressure on the platforms themselves to keep underage kids offline, or risk fines as high as $32 million.
"The way these platforms are built can harm children while they're still finding their own way," Albanese also posted.
"We share the government's goal of addressing and reducing online harms," said a statement posted on Australia's Google Blog on Tuesday.
YouTube is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, which expressed disappointment about the impending restrictions in the statement, which also alleged that the inclusion of YouTube "reverses a clear, public commitment to exclude YouTube from this ban."
"We will consider next steps and will continue to engage with the government," it also said.
The decision to include YouTube in the ban was influenced by a survey released by Australia's eSafety Commission earlier this month, which found 37% of children surveyed had reported seeing harmful content on the site.
According to the Commission's website, the law "puts the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to take reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections for under 16s are in place."
The expectation, as per the Commission, will require social media platform to take steps that include "implementing appropriate age assurance mechanisms."
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said in a video posted to Facebook Wednesday that the legislation, known as Online Safety Act 2021, was born from a request "by an army of 150,000 parents."
"Today, the Albanese government again shows its commitment to putting families at the heart of our decision making, tabling the rules of Australia's world-leading age-minimum social media laws," Wells continued.
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