Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will promote Australia’s world-first social media ban for children at the United Nations General Assembly in September, where he will urge other countries to pursue similar measures to limit teenagers’ exposure to harmful online content. Source: The Australian.
Revealing that YouTube would be included in the new restrictions after Labor previously granted the site an exemption, Mr Albanese yesterday said his Government was addressing a global issue, and would advocate for other countries to follow suit.
“It’s up to other nations what they do, but I know from the discussions I’ve had with other leaders that they are looking at this and they are considering what impact social media is having on young people in their respective nations,” Mr Albanese said.
He said he had written to James Larsen, Australia’s permanent representative to the UN, with the intention of holding an event with the Let Them Be Kids and 36 Months advocacy groups that agitated for the restrictions.
Under the ban, which is slated to take effect in December, social media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube will be required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children younger than 16 from creating or holding an account.
The legislation is among the most stringent crackdowns on social media companies globally, and will impose fines worth almost $50 million on platforms that breach the ban.
Reacting to its inclusion, YouTube said it was “considering its options”, having previously threatened a potential High Court challenge to the laws which it claims are in breach of the implied right of political communication.
The backflip over YouTube’s status comes after Communications Minister Anika Wells received advice from eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant last month that recommended the platform’s exemption be scrapped, given teens were most likely to access harmful content on the site.
“The evidence cannot be ignored that four out of 10 Australian kids report that their most recent harm was on YouTube,” Ms Wells said alongside Mr Albanese. The pair were flanked by grieving parents whose children had committed suicide after exposure to harmful online content.
YouTube, however, has consistently argued it is a video sharing site – rather than a social media platform – that hosts educational content and health-related content. It has also accused the commissioner of providing “inconsistent and contradictory” advice to the government.
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Anthony Albanese to take child social media ban to the UN (By Jack Quail, The Australian)
