{"id":4196,"date":"2025-06-26T12:23:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T07:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/?p=4196"},"modified":"2025-06-26T08:12:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T03:12:51","slug":"australia-clashes-with-youtube-over-under-16-social-media-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/2025\/06\/26\/australia-clashes-with-youtube-over-under-16-social-media-ban","title":{"rendered":"Australia Clashes with YouTube Over Under-16 Social Media Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Australia\u2019s internet safety watchdog and YouTube are in open conflict as the country pushes ahead with a groundbreaking social media law aimed at banning users under 16.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The eSafety Commissioner has urged the government to drop plans for a YouTube exemption, arguing that the platform is no safer than its competitors for young users.<\/p>\n

The law, set for rollout in December, would make Australia the first nation to fine social media companies for allowing underage users.<\/p>\n

While platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat will be required to comply, the government had proposed exempting YouTube due to its educational content.<\/p>\n

Watchdog Warns of Harmful Content<\/strong><\/p>\n

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant challenged the exemption, citing data that 37% of children aged 10 to 15 had encountered harmful material on YouTube\u2014more than on any other platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a fair fight,\u201d Inman Grant said, accusing YouTube of leveraging powerful algorithms to keep children hooked and exposed to potentially dangerous content.<\/p>\n

She criticized features like autoplay and recommendation feeds as \u201copaque algorithms driving users down rabbit holes they\u2019re powerless to fight against.\u201d<\/p>\n

YouTube Pushes Back Against Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a strong rebuttal, YouTube’s Public Policy Manager Rachel Lord said the Commissioner ignored research showing that 69% of Australian parents consider YouTube appropriate for children under 15.<\/p>\n

She emphasized the platform\u2019s role in education and said surveys of parents and teachers support its inclusion for young audiences.<\/p>\n

The platform accused the Commissioner of issuing inconsistent advice and undermining the government\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

Communications Minister Anika Wells is reviewing the Commissioner\u2019s advice, saying her top priority remains ensuring that the law protects children effectively.<\/p>\n

The outcome of this standoff could have global implications, with other nations closely watching Australia\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Australia\u2019s internet safety watchdog and YouTube are in open conflict as the country pushes ahead with a groundbreaking social media law aimed at banning users under 16. The eSafety Commissioner has urged the government to drop plans for a YouTube exemption, arguing that the platform is no safer than its competitors for young users. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[318,1387,2043],"class_list":["post-4196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-socialmedia","tag-youthsafety","tag-youtubepolicy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4198,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196\/revisions\/4198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}