The Australian government has also decided to include YouTube in its “complete ban on social media under the age of 16” policy, which is scheduled to be implemented from the end of this year. The regulation on the use of social media is expected to be further strengthened as the scope of the application has been expanded to YouTube, which was originally excluded from the regulation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference on the 30th, “Adolescents under the age of 16 will not be able to have YouTube accounts,” adding, “They will not be able to have other platform accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X.”
“We know that social media is causing harm to society,” he said. “We know that this (banning) is not the only solution, and it requires greater effort. But this will bring about a change.”
He added that the age restriction on social media may be incomplete, just like the restriction on the use of alcohol by minors, but it is still the right decision. As a result, teenagers under the age of 16 cannot create their own accounts on social media including YouTube.
In addition, social media companies must take “reasonable measures” to block access to under-16s or face fines of up to A$49.5 million.
When the bill passed parliament in November last year, the Australian government decided to exclude YouTube from the ban, saying it could be used for educational purposes.
However, controversy spread as other social media such as Facebook operators Meta and TikTok expressed opinions that YouTube should not be excluded.
In particular, the Australian government changed its stance last month when Internet regulators expressed the opinion that YouTube should also be included in the regulation.
YouTube said in a statement that YouTube is a “video sharing platform with free high-quality content” and “not social media,” adding that the government’s announcement on this day is a sudden shift in position.
On the other hand, Adam Marie, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of the cybersecurity company Aktik Wolf, told Reuters that the Australian government’s YouTube regulatory action is an important step to protect children against the unchecked power of big tech (information technology giant).
He also added that artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the spread of false information on social media platforms such as YouTube.
However, there are concerns among experts that the law will become a symbolic law that cannot be enforced because there are few details on specific regulatory methods, AFP reported.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
