YouTube gives four reasons with social media ban in Australia is ‘less safe’ for kids

As social media ban for under-16 in Australia is set to take effect on December 10, Google’s YouTube has voiced strong opposition to legislation, asserting that such blanket bans are likely to be “counterproductive” and ultimately make children less safe online. The platform’s stance comes as governments worldwide consider regulations to balance online safety with young people’s access to educational and creative material.

“Last week we shared an update on what YouTube will look like for users and creators in Australia as a result of the new law. As other governments around the world consider how to tackle the very real challenge of helping young people stay safe online while also helping them access positive material, it's clear that blanket account bans will have extremely negative consequences,” YouTube said.

4 reasons age bans are detrimental, according to YouTube

YouTube outlined four specific reasons why this regulatory approach is flawed:

Poorly designed regulations make kids less safe: YouTube argues that blanket bans remove choices from parents and force children out of curated, supervised spaces like YouTube Kids or supervised tween and teen accounts. According to the company, kids may resort to using adult accounts or browsing anonymously, often accessing less safe services.

Regulation fails to reflect platform differences: YouTube argues that applying blanket bans misunderstands the platform’s function, which is primarily a streaming service for learning, entertainment, news and sports highlights. YouTube noted that 94% of teachers globally use YouTube for educational content. Making it harder to promote educational content is counterproductive.

Creative expression is worth preserving: The platform emphasised that YouTube offers young people digital skills, connection and opportunities for creative and political expression. The platform noted that some of the world’s biggest artists, including Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa, began their careers on YouTube as teenagers.

Evidence-based regulation is better: YouTube also noted that a comprehensive approach that requires industry-wide standards for parental controls, limits access to specific risky features, mandates privacy-preserving age-estimation tools and bans personalised advertising to minors.