Australia wants to prohibit children under the age of 16 use

“Predatory algorithms”

Land wants to ban children under the age of 16 to use YouTube

The measure has been announced for a little longer. Now Australia’s government seems to be implementing it. Access to social media should be restricted.

Australia wants to prohibit children under the age of 16 access to the video platform YouTube in order to “predatory algorithms” to protect. “We want children to know who they are before platforms try who they are”the Australian Minister of Communication Anika Wells said on Wednesday. “There is a place for social media, but there is no place for predatory algorithms that aim at children”emphasized Wells.

Last year, Australia had announced the elaboration of laws that are supposed to ban children under the age of 16 access to online services such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

However, the government had previously indicated that the video platform YouTube would also be excluded from the regulation in school lessons due to its widespread use.

A spokesman for YouTube described the announcement of the Australian government on Wednesday as a surprising U -turn. “Our position is still clear: YouTube is a video platform with a library of free, high -quality content that is increasingly being viewed on television screens”he emphasized. It is “not about a social network”said the speaker.