Sydney [Australia], July 30: Australian children will be barred from accessing YouTube after the federal government confirmed the video-sharing website will fall under its social media ban. The platform, which believes the government has got it wrong, was initially spared from the ban for under-16s as part of an exemption for health and education services.
But advice from eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has encouraged the government to change its tune.
YouTube will join other platforms, such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which were included under the ban when legislation passed parliament in late 2024.
Anthony Albanese says barring children from such platforms will prevent social harms when the ban comes into effect in December.
"There is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it," the prime minister said.
"Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs."
YouTube told AAP it shares the government's goal to reduce online harm, but argues that it differs from others and is not a social media platform.
"YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens - it's not social media," a spokesperson said.
"We will consider the next steps and will continue to engage with the government."
YouTube is often used as a resource by teachers, underpinning its role as a content platform.
The video-sharing platform's inclusion has been foreshadowed since the online safety watchdog in June cited research that found children were exposed to harmful content on YouTube more than any other platform.
YouTube's parent company Google has threatened to sue the federal government on the grounds the ban restricts the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
But Ms Inman Grant in June said the new proposal would only prevent those under 16 from having an account, not from accessing content.
Educators can continue to use school-approved educational YouTube content through their own accounts.
Under the legislation, age-restricted social media platforms will face fines of up to $49.5 million if they fail to prevent people younger than 16 from creating accounts.
The government and coalition celebrated the move, but there are reservations about whether it will work and the impact it could have on marginalised children, particularly those in rural or regional Australia who use the internet to seek community.
Preliminary findings released by a federal government-commissioned trial in June found there was no guarantee the technologies used to block young kids from social media would always work.
While there were a plethora of approaches that would work in different ways, the age assurance technology trial's early findings revealed there was no single, ubiquitous answer that would fit every use case.
Communications Minister Anika Wells acknowledged there was no "one perfect solution" but said the rules would still offer kids reprieve from the "persuasive and pervasive" pull of social media.
The age assurance technology trial's final report will be published later in 2025.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
