SYDNEY— YouTube, a big player in video streaming, has strongly warned against Australia’s groundbreaking rules that would ban social media for kids under 16. The company says the regulations are “well-intentioned,” but they won’t make the internet any safer in the long run.
Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the rest of the Australian government introduced the law with the goal of keeping kids under 16 from having social media accounts by the end of 2025. Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are among of the popular platforms that will have to follow the new guidelines. Companies who break them will face big fines.
YouTube, which is also going to be banned, is officially fighting its classification as a social media site and says it should be exempt.
Rachel Lord, YouTube’s local spokesperson, told a Senate committee on Monday that the ban could have “unintended consequences” and is not a good way to solve the problem at hand.
Lord told the committee, “This law will not only be very hard to enforce, but it also does not keep its promise of making kids safer online.” She said, “A total ban is not the answer to keeping kids safer online.” She went on to say, “Well-crafted legislation can help the industry keep kids and teens safer online, but the answer is not to keep them from being online.”
Lord repeated the company’s main point: YouTube is not a social media site but a video-streaming site, hence it is not covered by the law.
Problems with enforcement and concerns in the industry
The tech industry as a whole has spoken out against the upcoming ban. Social media corporations have called the regulations “vague,” “problematic,” and “rushed” in the past, especially since the existing laws don’t say anything about how the ban would be implemented, which is a very important part of the law. Some experts are worried that the new law might only be a “symbolic” step because it isn’t clear.
The new guidelines give the eSafety Commissioner the right to sanction platforms that don’t follow them up to AU$49.5 million (about US$32 million).
Last month, the government said it would not require social media companies to check the ages of all users. This was done to address worries in the business about privacy. Companies must instead promise to take “reasonable steps” to find, block, and shut down accounts for people under 18. However, the meaning of “reasonable steps” is still up for debate and is a critical determinant in how well the law will work in the end.