Australia Bans YouTube for Under-16s as Labour Considers Following Suit – Guido Fawkes

Australia Bans YouTube for Under-16s as Labour Considers Following Suit

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In a bad omen for the free internet Australia has banned YouTube for under-16s. This is getting ridiculous…

The Labor Party under Anthony Albanese passed legislation last year to ban social media for children with massive fines for companies that failed to enforce age verification. YouTube claimed it was not such a service as it had an educational and entertainment component. Obviously true…

That designation has been overturned by Canberra. YouTube says: “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.” As Ofcom has today observed in its annual media report…

The legislation as currently drafted has almost no detail on enforcement or monitoring. Legislate first, come up with the details later…

Labour is considering following the same route here in the UK. Late last year the Times reported: “Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, is said to be watching developments in Australia, which announced last week that under-16s would be banned from sites such as Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok… the government was keen on the “principle” and would be willing and “open-minded” to support the measures.” Judging by Downing Street’s bold Savile-based communications strategy on the Online Safety Act it would have no issue pushing ahead with further bans…