The Australian government is including YouTube in its planned social media restriction for children under 16, saying platforms that don’t comply will be fined millions of dollars.
The government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia’s center-left Labor Party, announced the move Wednesday, also targeting X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms.
It’s the world’s first social media restriction for kids under 16 and goes into effect on Dec. 10.
Companies that don’t take “responsible steps to prevent underage account holders onto their services” will be fined up to $32 million, Mr. Albanese’s office said.
YouTube initially avoided the constraint until Australia’s internet regulator recommended that the Albanese government reverse course.
The regulator found in a survey that, among children who had seen “potentially harmful content,” 37% of them saw it most recently on YouTube or were most affected by content coming from the video giant.
A YouTube spokesperson told Reuters that “our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It’s not social media.”
Australian children under 16 will still be allowed to view videos, but without an account they can’t upload their own or interact with other YouTube users.
Under the law, a website or service is considered an age-restricted social media platform if it lets users interact with each other and post their own material.
Some apps and platforms, including gaming apps, some messaging apps, and health and education services, are exempted because they’re determined not to pose as much of a risk to youths or because they’re covered under a different law.
The age restrictions take effect Dec. 10 and platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for “failing to take responsible steps” to exclude underage account holders, a government statement said. The steps are not defined.
YouTube said the government’s decision “reverses a clear, public commitment to exclude YouTube from this ban.”
“We share the government’s goal of addressing and reducing online harms. Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It’s not social media,” a YouTube statement said, noting it will consider next steps and engage with the government.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
