Video streaming giant YouTube on Wednesday criticized Australia’s impending ban on social media for under-16s, calling the world-first laws “rushed” and dangerous for children.
“Most importantly, this law will fail to deliver on its promise to make children safer online and, in fact, will make Australian children less safe on YouTube,” the US company said in a statement.
“We have heard this from parents and educators who share these concerns.”
Australia will ban under-16s from accessing a range of the world’s most popular platforms and websites, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, starting December 10.
The latter, one of the most consulted in the world, could have been exempted, in order to allow children to view educational videos on it.
But the government abandoned the idea in July, believing that young people absolutely had to be protected from “predatory algorithms”.
YouTube has assured that all its users under the age of 16 will be automatically excluded on December 10.
The company will determine who is affected based on the ages provided by internet users on their Google accounts, which are used to log in to YouTube.
However, those who are too young will still be able to visit the site without an account, but they will no longer have access to features such as “wellbeing settings”, relating to comfort in particular, and “security filters” designed, for example, to prevent videos not intended for certain audiences from appearing.
International interest
According to Rachel Lord, YouTube’s head of public policy, this “rushed regulation misunderstands (the) platform and how young Australians use it.”
In response, Communications Minister Anika Wells said that “if YouTube is reminding us all that it is not safe and contains content inappropriate for age-restricted users, that is a problem that YouTube needs to address.”
The platform will not delete accounts and will give holders the option to reactivate them when they reach the legal age.
This Australian legislation is generating international interest, with countries curious to see if a ban proves effective in combating the dangers of social media.
“This particular law will not solve all the problems related to the internet, but it will make it easier for children to become a better version of themselves,” argued Ms. Wells .
According to her, Australia could ban other platforms if children shift to new apps.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described social media as “a platform for social pressure, a source of anxiety, a tool for scammers and, worst of all, for online predators.”
Non-compliant operators will face fines of up to $32 million if they fail to make “reasonable progress” toward compliance. However, this concept has not been clearly explained by the authorities.