The Australian government has announced YouTube will be required to ensure account holders are at least 16 years old starting in December.

YouTube will be included in Australia's world-first social media ban for children under 16, after the government ditched a previous exemption for the platform. The video sharing site was set to be excluded from the ban - which will limit TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and is due to start in December.

Officials in Australia had previously indicated they would exempt YouTube from the ban, which prohibits people under 16 from having social-media accounts.