Australia announces the ban on a YouTube account for children under the age of 16 – national

The Australian government announced YouTube It will be among Social media The platforms that should ensure that account holders is at least 16 years of December, which leads to a position that was taken months ago on the common video sharing service.

YouTube was listed as an exemption in November last year when Parliament approved the first global laws that will prohibit Australian children under the age of 16 years including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok and X.

The Minister of Communications, Annika Wales, issued rules on Wednesday, decided on the Internet, which are defined as “age -based social media platforms” that avoid the minimum age.

A government statement stated that the restrictions imposed on December 10 and the platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (33 million US dollars) for “failure to take responsible steps” to exclude account holders under the legal age. Steps are not specific.

Wales defended the application of the restrictions imposed on YouTube and said that the government will not be entrusted with threats to take legal measures from the American platform owner, Alphabet Inc.

“The evidence cannot be ignored that four out of 10 Australian children stated that their last harm was on YouTube,” Wales told reporters. “We will not be afraid of legal threats when this is a real battle for the welfare of Australian children.”

Children will be able to reach YouTube but will not be allowed to obtain their YouTube accounts.

YouTube said that the government’s decision “reflects a clear general commitment and the exclusion of YouTube from this ban.”

“We share the government’s goal in addressing and reducing online damage. Our website remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library with free and high -quality content, and it is increasingly displayed on television. It is not social media,” said a statement on YouTube, referring to the following steps and participates with the government.

Going now

• Ford government agrees to cancel $ 100 million fee with Elon Musk’s Starlink

• Katie Perry and Justin Trudeau monitored with a meal in Montreal

Prime Minister Anthony Albaniz said Australia will carry out a campaign at a United Nations forum in New York in September to obtain international support for children from social media.

“I know from the discussions I had with other leaders that they look at this and that they are considering the impact of social media on young people in their countries,” Albaniz said. “It is a common experience. This is not an Australian experience.”

Last year, the government was assigned to evaluate the age guarantee techniques that would have reported last month how young children were excluded from social media.

Wales said the government has not yet received the final evaluation recommendations. But she added that the users of the arterial system will not have to download documents such as passports and driver licenses to prove their age.

“The platforms must provide an alternative to providing your personal identity documents to satisfy themselves,” Wales said. “These platforms are known for a deadly accuracy of us, and what we do and when we do it. They know that you have a Facebook account since 2009, so that they know that you are more than 16.”

Examinated services include online games, messages, education and health applications. It is excluded because it is considered less harmful to children.

The minimum age aims to address the harmful effects on children, including addictive behaviors caused by the features of the disguised or manipulative platform design, social isolation, sleep overlap, mental and physical health, decrease in life and exposure to inappropriate and harmful content.

And copied 2025 Canadian press