YouTube to be part of the Australian Youth Social Media Prohibition

YouTube will be included in the World Social Media Prohibition in Australia for children under 16 years of age after the government has abandoned a previous release for the platform.

The video sharing site was to be excluded from the ban – which will limit Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and should start in December.

According to the prohibition, teens will still be able to view videos on YouTube, but it will not be allowed to have an account that is required to upload content or interaction to the platform.

YouTube – Google -owned – claims that it should not be blocked for children, as the platform “offers the benefit and value of the younger Australians”: “These are not social media,” a statement on Wednesday said.

Australia’s laws are observed with great interest from world leaders, with Norway declared such a ban, and the United Kingdom says it is considering the following claim.

“Social media make social harm to our children and I want Australian parents to know we have their backs,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the media on Wednesday.

“We know this is not the only solution,” he said of the ban, “But it will matter.”

Australia Commissioner at Esafty Julie Inman Grant last month recommended that you have added to the ban, as it was “the most often cited platform”, where children aged 10 to 15 see “harmful content”.

Following a Wednesday announcement, a YouTube spokesman said he would “consider the next steps” and “continue to engage” with the government.

Last week, several Australian media reported that Google was threatening to sue the government if YouTube was included in the ban, claiming it would limit political freedom.

Federal Minister of Communication Annika Wales said that although there is room for social media, “there is no place for predatory algorithms aimed at children.”

She described, trying to protect children from the harms of the Internet as “like trying to teach your children to swim in the open ocean with tears and sharks compared to the local council pool.”

“We cannot control the ocean, but we can do the police of sharks, so we will not be intimidated by legitimate threats when it is a real struggle for the well -being of Australian children,” she said.

Exceptions to the ban will include “online games, messages, education and health applications” as they “represent less harm to social media under 16,” Wales said.

According to the ban, technology companies can fine up to $ 50 million ($ 32.5 million; £ 25.7 million) if they do not comply with age restrictions. They will need to deactivate existing accounts and ban all new accounts, as well as stop all work and correct errors.

More details on how the new ban will work, which must be presented to the Federal Parliament on Wednesday.