Australia adds YouTube to kids social media ban due to ‘predatory algorithms’
The Australian government has included YouTube in its controversial move to ban children from social media due to its “predatory algorithms targeting children,” despite originally saying the platform would escape due to its potential educational benefits.
The amendments to the social media reform policy were announced today by the Australian prime minister and new communications minister Anika Wells, who said the government “will not be intimidated by tech companies.”
“We can’t control the ocean but we can police the sharks, and that is why we will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for the wellbeing of Australian kids,” Wells said.
The inclusion of YouTube in the under-16s usage ban takes effect from December and includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter/X, amongst others.
The restrictions placed on YouTube do not extend to the YouTube Kids app, which will continue to operate. Minors will also be able to watch videos on the website in a logged-out state, but under-16s will not be allowed to have active YouTube accounts or subscribe to YouTube channels.
In recent days YouTube’s owner, Google, had been lobbying the government to refrain from overturning its decision, claiming that YouTube is a video sharing platform, not a social media service.
A YouTube representative said: “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.”
YouTube said that it will consider next steps, which could include legal action, while it continues to engage with the Australian government.
Under the new laws, age-restricted social media platforms will face fines of up to A$49.5m (US$32.2m) for failing to take responsible steps to prevent underage account holders on to their services.
Wells conceded that while there is “no one perfect solution when it comes to keeping young Australians safer online,” implementing the social media minimum age will make a significantly positive difference to their wellbeing.
“The rules are not a ‘set and forget,’ they are a ‘set and support.’ There’s a place for social media, but there’s not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children,” Wells said.
Technology and content companies that have been spared the age restrictions include online gaming, messaging, education and health apps. Wells explained those online services have been excluded because they pose fewer social media harms to under-16s.
The Australian children’s content production and distribution sector is yet to respond to YouTube’s inclusion in the social media ban.
The YouTube restriction will potentially sever a direct pathway that most children’s content creators use to reach under-16s, with high profile-brands such as The Wiggles and Bluey establishing their own successful YouTube channels.
This month, ABC’s award-winning Australian teen trans series First Day was launched in the UK on YouTube because the producers said they wanted the series to go directly to where its “intended audience was” and provide its positive messaging to that demographic.
However, the lack of curation on the platform in favour of algorithms that many argue exist to keep children glued to the screen has become an increasing cause for concern in an embattled children’s TV industry.
Many want to see YouTube take a more active role in distributing high-quality children’s content, given its huge command of the audience, whose viewing habits have overwhelmingly shifted online.
However, this month Dr Vishaal Virani, YouTube UK and Ireland’s head of health, kids and learning, said at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, UK, that YouTube has no plans to go down the commissioning route.
