YouTube has reportedly shared its public disagreement with millions of Australian users and content creators, confirming that it will comply with a world-first teen social media ban by signing out users aged under 16 from their accounts this month.
According to Reuters, the recent decision resolved the impasse, and the Australian government reversed its earlier decision to exempt YouTube from the age restriction, which had been put in place for educational purposes.
The company said in a statement, “Viewers must now be 16 or older to sign into YouTube.”
It would be impossible for parents to supervise their teen’s account-including setting content restrictions or blocking channels-after the social media ban for under-16s takes effect on December 10.
The Australian ban is closely monitored by other jurisdictions as they consider similar age-based measures, creating a precedent for how the mostly U.S. tech giants behind leading platforms balance child safety tech with access to digital services.
According to the Australian government, the action responds to growing evidence that platforms are failing to protect children from detrimental content.
YouTube has confirmed that any user aged under 16 would be logged off of their account from December 10.
This implies that they would no longer be able to subscribe, like or comment on posts, although they could still view content while logged out.
Content creators will not be able to post or log in, yet it is not confirmed how YouTube would verify someone’s age.
The company also reaffirmed its stance that the ban would not make the internet safer and sent an email to adolescents’ caretakers stating that “Parental controls only work when your pre-teen or teen is signed in, so the settings you’ve chosen will no longer apply.”
It has been observed that former generations have dealt with potentially damaging content, but new technology meant children had content readily available, with algorithms and notifications captivating their attention for hours every day.
The tech companies will be reportedly fined up to A$49.5m (US$33m, £25m) if they defy the age restrictions in line with the new rule.
YouTube has approximately 325,000 accounts held by Australians aged 13 to 15, according to regulator the eSafety Commissioner, ranking third behind only Snapchat which has 440,000 and Instagram which has 350,000 in that age range respectively.
The online e safety, which provides an intuitive platform, has said that more than one-third of Australians aged 10 to 15 have reported seeing harmful content on YouTube.
