Big Tech Rejects YouTube Exceptions From Prohibition Of Social Media For Children In Australia

JAKARTA Big tech companies such as Meta Platforms, owners of Facebook and Instagram, as well as Snapchat and TikTok, are urging Australia to reconsider its decision to exclude YouTube from legislation banning social media for children under the age of 16.

The law passed by Australian parliament in November 2024 sets strict restrictions on social media, requiring these platforms to ban access for minors or face fines of up to USD 49.5 million (approximately IDR 500 billion).

YouTube has an exception to the ban that will take effect later this year because it is considered a major educational tool and is the only platform allowed for children in family accounts under parental scrutiny.

However, Meta considers that young users on YouTube are still experiencing features that are the basis for banning social media for children, such as algorithm recommendations, features of social interaction, and exposure to harmful content.

"Tube's exception goes against the reasons underlying this law, and we ask the government to apply this rule equally for all social media platforms," Meta said in a blog post on Wednesday, March 5.

TikTok also criticized this decision, saying that YouTube's exemption would result in "illogical, anticompetitive, and narrow-minded regulations".Snapchat stated that no specific company could receive special treatment.

"There must be fair and impartial application of exceptions, and all platforms must be treated with the same standards," Snap Inc said in a statement on Friday, February 28.

A number of mental health experts and extremism say that YouTube can also expose children to addictive and harmful content, similar to other social media platforms.

In a public statement, YouTube said that their moderation efforts were increasingly aggressive, by expanding the definition of harmful content detected by their automated systems.