YouTube to follow Australia’s teen social media ban, confirms company

Google’s video streaming platform YouTube has now announced that it will comply with Australia’s landmark law which will ban children under 16 years of age from various social media platforms. This announcement made by YouTube ends weeks of uncertainty over whether YouTube would challenge its inclusion in the ban. “This is a disappointing update to share. We deeply care about the safety of kids and teens on our platform; it’s why we spent more than a decade building robust protections and parental controls that families rely on for a safer YouTube experience. But as we have consistently said, this rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it. Most importantly, this law will not fulfill its promise to make kids safer online, and will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube. We’ve heard from parents and educators who share these concerns,” said YouTube in a blog post.