Australia Does a 180 on YouTube Access for Kids

The Australian government announced that YouTube will be among the social media platforms that must ensure account holders are at least 16, reversing a position taken months ago on the popular video-sharing service. YouTube was listed as an exemption in November last year when the Parliament passed world-first laws that will ban Australian children younger than 16 from platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X. Communications Minister Anika Wells released rules on Wednesday that decide which online services are defined as "age-restricted social media platforms" and which avoid the age limit, per the AP.

The age restrictions take effect on Dec. 10, and platforms will face fines of up to $32 million for "failing to take responsible steps" to exclude underage account-holders, a government statement said. Those steps aren't yet defined. Wells defended applying the restrictions to YouTube and said the government wouldn't be intimidated by threats of legal action from the platform's US owner, Alphabet Inc. "The evidence cannot be ignored that 4 out of 10 Australian kids report that their most recent harm was on YouTube," Wells told reporters, citing government research.

"We will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for the well-being of Australian kids," Wells added. Children will be able to access YouTube but won't be allowed to have their own YouTube accounts. YouTube, meanwhile, 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," it said in a statement.

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But, the company adds, "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." The minimum age is intended to address harmful impacts on children, including addictive behaviors caused by persuasive or manipulative platform design features, social isolation, sleep interference, poor mental and physical health, low life-satisfaction, and exposure to inappropriate and harmful content, government documents say.