The Australian government plans to ban children and teenagers under the age of 16 from using social media, becoming the first country in the world to propose such a restriction. On July 30, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the ban will include YouTube, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, reversing a previous plan that would have exempted the platform.
According to Reuters, Australia’s online safety regulator had earlier urged the government to revoke YouTube’s exemption. The agency pointed out that 37% of children and teens aged 10 to 15 had encountered harmful content on YouTube— a higher percentage than on other social media platforms.
Other platforms, including Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as Snapchat and TikTok, criticized the initial plan to exempt YouTube, arguing that it would result in unfair competition.
In his statement, Albanese emphasized that social media platforms have a responsibility to society, and that the government has a duty to intervene when children are being negatively affected by online content. He stated, “Social media is causing harm to our children. We will take action to support parents and protect the next generation.”
In response to the proposed ban, a YouTube spokesperson said the company will continue its dialogue with the government and reiterated the platform’s nature. The spokesperson said, “We support the goal of reducing online harm. However, we have consistently emphasized that YouTube is a video-sharing platform, not a social media site, and much of its content is viewed on television screens.”