SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - Tech giants Facebook and

Instagram owner Meta Platforms ( META ), Snapchat and

TikTok have urged Australia to reconsider a decision to exempt

Alphabet's YouTube from its laws banning social media

for children younger than 16.

The landmark legislation setting some of the world's most

stringent limits on social media was approved by Australia's

parliament in November, forcing such firms to bar log-ins by

minors, or pay fines of up to A$49.5 million ($31 million).

YouTube stands to be exempted from the ban set to take

effect by the end of the year as it is considered a key

educational tool and is the only service allowed for children as

part of a family account with parental supervision rights.

But Meta said a young person with a YouTube account

experiences the features outlined by the government to justify

the ban, including algorithmic content recommendations, social

interaction features and exposure to harmful content.

"YouTube's exemption is at odds with the purported reasons

for the law and we call on the government to ensure equal

application of the law across all social media services," it

said in a blog posting on Wednesday.

TikTok is concerned that exempting YouTube from the minimum

age rule would result in a law that is "illogical,

anticompetitive, and short-sighted", it told the government in a

submission, urging consistency for all social media platforms.

Snapchat said no specific company should receive

preferential treatment.

"There must be a fair and impartial application of

exclusions and all services should be held to the same

standard," Snap Inc ( SNAP ) said in a submission on Friday.

Some mental health and extremism experts told Reuters

YouTube exposes children to addictive and harmful content as it

hosts the same sort of dangerous content as other sites.

In public online statements, YouTube has said its moderation

effort is getting more aggressive, while it has broadened its

definition of harmful content picked up by its automated

detection system.

($1=1.6111 Australian dollars)