Australia will prohibit the YouTube transmission video platform for children under 16 to protect them from “predatory algorithms,” Anika Wells communication minister announced Wednesday.
Two out of five Australian children say they have seen inappropriate content on the American platform, said the minister. Specifically, “young people under 16 will not be able to have an account on YouTube,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to La Prensa on Wednesday.
“We want Australian families and parents to know that we support them,” added the head of the Labor Government.
YouTube defends itself from being a social network
The Australian Parliament has already adopted in November 2024 a pioneer law in the regulation of the Internet, prohibiting access to social networks such as Tiktok, X or Facebook and Instagram for children. The text, which benefited from bipartisan support, invoked similar reasons.
However, the government had indicated that YouTube, which is widely used in school, would not be worried. Canberra finally operated in a change.
The “is not a social network” platform, a spokesman for this site among the most popular in the world reacted on Wednesday. “Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video exchange platform with a free and high quality content library, increasingly observed on television screens,” defended the transmission giant.
The measure desired by the government could only be symbolic, warned experts, few details that leaked themselves in terms of the terms of their application to platforms, scheduled for December 10.
The objective sites, which risk up to 49.5 million Australian fines (28 million euros) if they do not cooperate, have described as “wave”, “problematic” or “precipitated” the government project. Tiktok accused the government of ignoring experts in mental health, online safety and young people, who oppose this measure.
Source: BFM TV
