The world-first social media ban on children under 16 that will begin in Australia in January has added popular forum site Reddit.
Another platform that will be considered in the ban is the live-streaming platform Kick, which will make the total number of sites to be targeted in the ban nine. These are Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Beginning 10 December, tech companies may pay fines of up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) in case they fail to take what amounts to “reasonable steps” to terminate pre-existing accounts of minors under-16s and prevent new ones.
The government selected each of the banned platforms as having a sole or a substantial use of facilitating online socialization, and additional websites can be added due to the dynamic nature of technology.
“The postponement of children receiving social media accounts,” according to the eSafety Commissioner of Australia Julie Inman Grant, “will provide a precious opportunity to learn and develop without the powerful, invisible influences of the malicious and misleading structure of social media, like opaque algorithms and endless scrolls.”
Messaging apps will be excluded, such as Discord and WhatsApp, and gaming apps will also not be included, including Lego Play and Roblox. Google Classroom and YouTube Kids will also not be listed.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells claimed that the online sites are able to control children through chilling control, and the ban was aimed at safeguarding children.
“I am not pursuing perfection, I am pursuing a significant distinction,” she said.
It is not clear how companies will introduce the ban that is being scrutinized by international leaders, yet some of the possibilities include official ID document use, parental consent, and facial recognition technology.
The privacy of data and the ability of the age verification software to be accurate have been questioned by critics, and a recent report demonstrated that all of the offered methods have vulnerabilities or drawbacks.
Polls indicate that most Australian adults are in favor of the ban, but there are mental health advocates who believe that it will result in the kids not being able to connect, and some who believe that it could encourage youngsters to move even more into the internet.
Rather, they explain, the government must aim at engaging in more constructive policing of the harmful content on social media platforms and train children on the reality of life on the web.
The influencer family has millions of followers on YouTube and recently proclaimed that they were relocating to the UK to avert the imminent ban, i.e., to allow their 14-year-old daughter to keep making online content.
Initially, YouTube was not banned, but in July, the government changed its mind by citing that the video-sharing site was the most mentioned area where children between the ages of 10 and 15 years viewed harmful content.
Youths below 16 will not be allowed to create an account, and thus, they will not be allowed to upload content or communicate with other users through YouTube.
