Australia regulator calls to add YouTube to teen social media ban
A YouTube stream on a smartphone in Melbourne shows Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on June 24. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
SHAUN TURTON
SYDNEY -- Australia's internet safety commissioner said Tuesday that she has recommended the government include YouTube in its impending ban on children under 16 accessing social media, casting doubt on a previous exemption.
Julie Inman Grant, head of the country's eSafety Commission, sent a letter to Minister for Communications Anika Wells recommending the Google-owned video-sharing platform not be included in draft rules that designate certain services as low risk and as promoting health and education.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Australia regulator and YouTube spar over under-16s social media ban
FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with a displayed YouTube logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo By Byron Kaye Australia's internet watchdog and YouTube exchanged barbs on Tuesday after the regulator urged the government to reverse a planned exemption for the Alphabet-owned video-sharing platform from its world-first teen social media ban. The quarrel adds an element of uncertainty to the December rollout of a law being watched by governments and tech leaders around the world as Australia seeks to become the first country to fine social media firms if they fail to block users aged under 16. The centre-left Labor government of Anthony Albanese has previously said it would give YouTube a waiver, citing the platform's use for education and health. Other social media companies such as Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have argued such an exemption would be unfair. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she wrote to the government last week to say there should be no exemptions when the law takes effect. She added that the regulator's research found 37% of children aged 10 to 15 reported seeing harmful content on YouTube - the most of any social media site. "This is not a fair fight where our kids are concerned, vis-a-vis social media sites," Inman Grant told the National Press Club in Sydney. She said social media companies deployed "persuasive design features" like recommendation-based algorithms and notifications to keep users online and "YouTube has mastered those, opaque algorithms driving users down rabbit holes they're powerless to fight against". YouTube, in a blog post, accused Inman Grant of giving inconsistent and contradictory advice, which discounted the government's own research which found 69% of parents considered the video platform suitable for people under 15. "The eSafety commissioner chose to ignore this data, the decision of the Australian Government and other clear evidence from teachers and parents that YouTube is suitable for younger users," wrote Rachel Lord, YouTube's public policy manager for Australia and New Zealand. Inman Grant, asked about surveys supporting a YouTube exemption, said she was more concerned "about the safety of children and that's always going to surpass any concerns I have about politics or being liked or bringing the public onside". A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells said the minister was considering the online regulator's advice and her "top priority is making sure the draft rules fulfil the objective of the Act and protect children from the harms of social media". © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Kyodo News
FEATURE: Younger Japanese drawn to anti-immigrant populist Sanseito
By Takara Sato, KYODO NEWS - 19 hours ago - 08:00 | Feature, All, Japan "Long ago, rock was a symbol of the words, not guitars, as our weapons today, politics is what rocks!" That's the marketing message of Sanseito, a new right-wing populist party in Japan known for its stance against immigrants and coronavirus measures as well as calls for rewriting the postwar Constitution, often seen as taboo. Some supporters want to revive wartime slogans of the Japanese Empire. Sanseito, known in English as the Party of Do it Yourself, was established as the pandemic began in 2020 and quickly exploited the fears and frustrations of people in Japan. It picked up three seats in last October's lower house election. The party leader Sohei Kamiya, who won re-election in May, has set a target of six seats in voting for the upper house this summer. Amid growing discontent with economic malaise and record-breaking numbers of inbound tourists, Sanseito supporters complain that foreigners receive better treatment than Japanese and the country's culture is changing rapidly. A movement with roots in social media, supporters blend nationalism with a sense of crisis and frustration over their daily lives. At a party gathering in Hashimoto, Wakayama Prefecture in February, about 25 attendees split into groups to discuss rewriting the 1947 Constitution. One group suggested a new supreme law should state that "Japan belongs to the Japanese people, and foreign ownership of Japanese land is not permitted." "First, (foreigners) have to fulfill their obligations as human beings and then we can teach them their rights," said one woman. "That's right. Japan's a paradise for foreigners," chimed in another. Others said everyone living in Japan should follow its traditional culture and customs. One proposal called for a return to the spirit of "Hakko Ichiu" as a national ideal. The Japanese Empire's wartime slogan means "unify the eight corners of the world" and it was used to justify its domination of Asia. Many supporters of populist right-wing political parties claim Japan spends more money on foreigners' livelihoods while Japanese are struggling to make ends meet. An 18-year-old male university student from Nara Prefecture supports Sanseito because he's angry at the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The teen, who requested anonymity, was introduced to the party by his father around the time of the 2022 upper house election, when Kamiya won his first parliamentary seat. "Japanese people are struggling, but they are giving money away to foreign countries and giving excessive preferential treatment to foreigners," the teen said. He supports Sanseito's calls for tighter regulation of land acquisition by foreign capital and curbs on foreign workers. He was impressed by speeches by the firebrand Kamiya and others on YouTube. "I thought these people are really Japanese," he said. In January, the student helped hand out Sanseito leaflets in front of a venue for a Coming-of-Age ceremony in Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture, western Japan. Young people smartly attired in their suits and kimono did not readily accept them, but the teen was satisfied nonetheless, remarking, "I'm glad that people know about the party now." Sanseito's early support, especially among younger Japanese, can be attributed in part to pandemic fatigue, specifically the obligation to wear masks. A 19-year-old woman who attends a vocational school in Wakayama Prefecture became a supporter because of the party's proposal for the "liberalization of mask wearing" in the 2022 House of Councillors election as official COVID-19 policy. Feeling masks were ineffective and uncomfortable, she began removing hers at school even though she was warned not to do so. The woman, who also requested anonymity, joined Sanseito's political activities with her mother. When Kamiya was elected for the first time, she said she felt his voice united voters across the country. Kamiya has been likened to a Japanese male idol because of his charismatic stage presence. "When I see Mr. Kamiya's speeches, it makes me cry. I'm a huge fan," the woman said. Her parents often say that Japan's history was changed by the U.S.-led Allied Occupation. "The Constitution was not written by the Japanese people," she said. "I want people to be taught the correct history." She also agrees with Sanseito policies on food safety and the importance of organic produce. Fast food is not part of her diet. "It's the additives," she said. "And the food is not from Japan. It's all imported. Because I'm Japanese, shouldn't I want to eat Japanese food? It's like local production for local consumption. Our food self-sufficiency rate is low."
Nikkei Asia
15 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
The end of Iran's illusions
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on June 4. © Reuters Dave Sharma is a Liberal senator for New South Wales and former Australian ambassador to Israel. Massive strikes by the U.S. have inflicted severe damage on Iran's nuclear facilities, and left the regime -- already weak and isolated -- reeling.
