Australian teenagers will still be able to watch YouTube videos once the new ban starts. What they will not be allowed is an account.
That is the shape of the rule after the government dropped a previous exemption for the platform on Wednesday. YouTube now falls under Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under 16, alongside TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat. The ban is due to start in December.
An account is what lets users upload content or interact on the site, so that is the part being shut off. Tech companies that break the age restrictions can be fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m). They will need to deactivate existing accounts, prohibit new ones, stop any work arounds and correct errors.
The government’s case
“Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told media. “We know that this is not the only solution,” he said of the ban, “but it will make a difference.”
The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, had recommended last month that YouTube be added. She said it was “the most frequently cited platform” where children aged 10 to 15 years saw “harmful content.”
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells said there is a place for social media, but “there’s not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children.” She likened protecting children online to teaching kids to swim “in the open ocean with the rips and the sharks compared to at the local council pool.”
“We can’t control the ocean but we can police the sharks and that is why we will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for the wellbeing of Australian kids,” she said.
Wells also listed what the ban will leave alone: “online gaming, messaging, education and health apps,” which she said “pose fewer social media harms to under 16s.”
YouTube pushes back
YouTube, which Google owns, had argued it should not be blocked for children because the platform “offers benefit and value to younger Australians.” In a statement on Wednesday it said, “It’s not social media.”
After the announcement, a YouTube spokesperson said the company will “consider next steps” and “continue to engage” with the government. Several Australian media outlets had reported the week before that Google was threatening to sue if YouTube was included, arguing the ban would restrict political freedom.
Other governments are watching. Norway has announced a similar ban, and the UK has said it is considering following suit. More details of how the ban will work were due to go before federal parliament on Wednesday.
