Google Decries Impact of Australia's Social Media Minimum Age Law
With Australia's Social Media Minimum Age Act taking effect Dec. 10, Google's YouTube on Thursday sent its users and creators what it called "a disappointing update."
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Google "deeply care[s]" about the safety of kids and teens on its platforms but has consistently said that the "rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it," blogged Rachel Lord, Google and YouTube Australia public policy senior manager.
Viewers must already be 16 or older to sign onto YouTube, Lord said. Anyone younger than 16 will be automatically signed out Dec. 10 and lose access to features such as subscriptions and playlists that only work when signed in to an account. Google will determine a viewer's age based on the age associated with their account and other signals as it explores how to put appropriate age assurance in place, she said.
Parents will no longer be able to supervise their teen's or tween's accounts on YouTube since those accounts only work when they're signed in, Lord wrote. Creators under 16 won't be able to sign in to YouTube and their channels won't be viewable.
Once viewers and creators turn 16, they will gain access to their accounts, and no existing content or data will be deleted, Lord said.
Google will keep advocating for "effective, evidence-based regulation," she added.