Australia’s push to ban children from social media was “well intentioned”, but would not make them safer online, video streaming giant YouTube warned on Monday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year unveiled landmark laws that will ban under-16s from social media by the end of 2025. Popular platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram face heavy fines for flouting the laws.
YouTube, which will also fall under the ban, has argued that it is not a social media platform and should receive some kind of exception.
The firm’s local spokeswoman Rachel Lord told a senate committee the ban was “well intentioned” but would risk “unintended consequences”.
The solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online
“The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online,” she said on Monday.
“Well-crafted legislation can be an effective tool to build on industry efforts to keep children and teens safer online, but the solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online.”
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