Ministers are weighing a broader ban on social media for under-16s that could pull in services such as YouTube Kids, as they seek rules wide enough to limit workarounds.
The question is whether platforms that are not mainly social networks would still be caught if they recommend content or add functions the government treats as in scope.
Tech companies are understood to be making the same point more widely: stripping out recommendation algorithms would make it impossible for their sites to operate.
Ministers are understood to want a catch-all approach so the ban is harder to evade. They are also described as wanting the rules broad and legally airtight, so they can cover eventualities that have not yet appeared.
The current government position is that there has to be an off-ramp, according to an account of the talks.
Spotify could technically fall inside the proposals if they are enacted. The service carries some user-generated content and shows recommended music or podcasts, even though it is not primarily a social platform.
The company has sought reassurances that it would not face a ban on that basis. A company source said Spotify’s messaging is limited to contact with known friends and family, and only for users who are 16 and older.
Platforms that might once have sat outside the rules could be drawn in by new functions that differ from the social media services ministers set out to regulate, according to one account of the policy.
The push for a wide net follows criticism of Australia’s social media prohibition. Critics there say teenagers have moved to new platforms or found ways to message through other sites that look innocuous.
Ministers are also looking at a second set of regulations in the spring that could cover e-commerce platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Depop.