Australia: YouTube Claims Children Will Be 'Less Safe' with Social Media Ban

Australia: YouTube has criticized the upcoming ban on social media for those under 16, labeling these laws—a world first—as "hasty" and dangerous for children.

"Above all, this law will not fulfill its promise to make children safer online and will, in fact, make Australian children less safe on YouTube," the American company stated in a release.

"We've heard this from parents and educators who share these concerns."

Starting December 10, Australia will prohibit access to several of the world's most popular platforms and websites, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, for those under 16.

YouTube, one of the most visited platforms globally, could have been exempt to allow children to watch educational videos. However, the government abandoned this idea in July, deciding that young people must be protected from "predatory algorithms."

YouTube assured that all users under 16 would be automatically excluded starting December 10. The company will determine eligibility based on the ages users provided on their Google accounts, which are used to log into YouTube.

Nevertheless, younger individuals will still be able to access the site without an account, although they will lose access to features like "well-being settings" and "safety filters" designed to prevent inappropriate videos from appearing.

According to Rachel Lord, YouTube's public policy head, this "hasty regulation misunderstands the platform and how young Australians use it." The platform will not delete accounts and will allow users to reactivate their accounts once they reach the legal age.

This Australian legislation is garnering international interest, as other countries are curious to see if a ban proves effective in combating the dangers of social media.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described these platforms as "a source of social pressure, anxiety, a tool for scammers, and, worst of all, for online predators."

Operators in violation will face fines of up to $32 million if they do not make "reasonable progress" towards compliance. However, this concept has not been clearly explained by authorities.