Aussie Rules
However, it is Australia that has taken the most dramatic stance and is the first country in the world to ban social media apps for anyone under sixteen. The authorities are now trialing “age-assurance technology” but this will be completed in the coming months, says The Guardian.
However, TikTok is not taking the ban well and has lashed out about the details, according to Bloomberg. In particular, it has taken issue with the fact that YouTube has been excluded from the crackdown as “a health and education service.”
TikTok says that this is “illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted” in a submission to Australia’s Department of Communications. It added that YouTube’s value as an education resource doesn’t pass “even the most cursory of closer examinations.”
Meta and Snapchat-operator, Snap Inc, are also calling for YouTube’s exclusion to be reversed.
