Australia's internet watchdog and YouTube exchanged barbs on Tuesday after the regulator urged the government to reverse a planned exemption for the Alphabet-owned video-sharing platform from its world-first teen social media ban.
The quarrel adds an element of uncertainty to the December rollout of a law being watched by governments and tech leaders around the world as Australia seeks to become the first country to fine social media firms if they fail to block users aged under 16.
The centre-left Labor government of Anthony Albanese has previously said it would give YouTube a waiver, citing the platform's use for education and health. Other social media companies such as Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have argued such an exemption would be unfair.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she wrote to the government last week to say there should be no exemptions when the law takes effect. She added that the regulator's research found 37% of children aged 10 to 15 reported seeing harmful content on YouTube - the most of any social media site.
"This is not a fair fight where our kids are concerned, vis-a-vis social media sites," Inman Grant told the National Press Club in Sydney.
She said social media companies deployed "persuasive design features" like recommendation-based algorithms and notifications to keep users online and "YouTube has mastered those, opaque algorithms driving users down rabbit holes they're powerless to fight against".
YouTube, in a blog post, accused Inman Grant of giving inconsistent and contradictory advice, which discounted the government's own research which found 69% of parents considered the video platform suitable for people under 15.
"The eSafety commissioner chose to ignore this data, the decision of the Australian Government and other clear evidence from teachers and parents that YouTube is suitable for younger users," wrote Rachel Lord, YouTube's public policy manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Inman Grant, asked about surveys supporting a YouTube exemption, said she was more concerned "about the safety of children and that's always going to surpass any concerns I have about politics or being liked or bringing the public onside".
A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells said the minister was considering the online regulator's advice and her "top priority is making sure the draft rules fulfil the objective of the Act and protect children from the harms of social media".
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
5 Comments
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GBR48
quote: more concerned "about the safety of children"...
On that basis, they should also ban kids from watching TV, listening to the radio, reading newspapers and using the internet in any way. Pop music can be quite sexualised, newspapers detail crime, war and violence, the news in all media is really toxic and TV drama is full of bad people doing bad things. And as for the internet, well, they really need to keep them completely off that.
Zaphod
I do not see how they want to implement that without removing anonymity on the internet. And open the door to unlimited government censorship.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions...
koiwaicoffee
While I don't have an opinion about the ban, there's an interesting afterthought.
What if kids didn't have anything online at all? What would they miss? It looks to me that they mostly use the internet to entertain themselves with endless content. Is it educational? Maybe some of it. But books are also quite educational, more than Youtube I'd say.
Concerned Citizen
Only far left governments want that much control over the populace.
リッチ
Smart phones are the #1 way these sites are viewed. Simply regulate phones like cigarettes and alcohol as they are as harmful to development. No child needs a smart phone. Let them have a phone, well thst is, a phone. That’s it a method to actually call and talk to people. The smart part is making everyone stupid.