Australia to add YouTube to list of social media platforms banned for children under age of 16

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced that YouTube would be added to the list of social media platforms banned for children under the age of 16.

"Young people under the age of 16 will not be able to have accounts on YouTube," Albanese said at a news conference in Canberra on Wednesday.

"They will also not be able to have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, amongst other platforms," he added.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had earlier recommended that YouTube be included in the government’s social media ban.

On the other hand, YouTube's parent company, Google, said in a statement the same day that the firm "shares the Government's goal of addressing and reducing online harms."

"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," it said.

Last November, Australia became the first country in the world to pass a law banning children from social media.

New laws are set to come into force at the end of this year, barring anyone age 16 or below from using platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and X.

The law is set to take effect later this year.