The Australian government will implement a YouTube ban for kids under 16 starting December 10. We reached this decision due to increasing pressures regarding the safety of children on our platform. Despite YouTube’s efforts, recent statistics indicate that four in ten Australian children report they’ve come across harmful content while using YouTube. At the start of this month, Communications Minister Anika Wells announced new protective measures for young users. This decision followed a recommendation by e-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant calling for such action in light of disturbing material that amassed online.
Over the past few months, social media has faced an onslaught of criticism for allegedly harming children. The Prime Minister’s office has curated these moving vignettes from three parents into a collection. These parents have, unfortunately, lost their teenagers to the dangers exacerbated by social media. Among them is Mia Bannister, whose son Ollie tragically died in 2022 at the age of just 14. These devastating accounts have raised awareness and magnified the need for government action to protect kids in our ever-connected, digital age.
Minister Anika Wells’s move to use this power to impose the ban has been met with a highly politicized and mixed response. Critics are pointing to the administration’s inability to lay out its online safety goals ahead of the election. This lack of clarity leads to serious transparency and accountability concerns. Ted O’Brien, a member of the opposition, remarked, “There’s no doubt that the safety of children has to come first. What’s curious is the government did not make it clear to the Australian people its intent before the election. Now it’s changed its mind.”
Even with the government’s promise to make the internet safer, experts still fear that a total ban wouldn’t work. Lizzie O’Shea, a prominent advocate for digital rights, stated, “I absolutely think there’s a role for government here to regulate large technology companies from a safety perspective. The question is what form should that take? An outright ban has these technical problems which I think can be distracting from other reforms.”
For content creators such as Grace Mulgrew who use YouTube as their primary source of income, the trade war has created an incredibly difficult situation. In an RFRA-like rant, Mulgrew said that the restriction would prevent her from reaching the audience she needs to reach. “Potentially my videos won’t get recommended as much because people who are using their parents’ account, I’m sure they’re going to be getting content that their parents are watching as well,” she explained. “It’s going to be really hard to try and establish an audience if you’re trying to target a younger audience.”
The ban comes on the heels of increasing evidence that Australian kids are exposed to inappropriate disparaging material. This exposure takes place not only through social media, but traditional media outlets as well. The government hopes to do just that with this latest regulatory action. “The evidence cannot be ignored that four out of ten Australian kids report that their most recent harm was on YouTube,” noted an anonymous source. “We can’t control the ocean, but we can police the sharks.”
For many advocates and workers, the ban is seen as an essential life-saving standard. Some argue it might do more harm than good by further limiting teenagers’ access to crucial news and information, considering how much they depend on online platforms. Critics warn that limiting access to platforms like YouTube could cut off young users from diverse perspectives and essential information.
Mia Bannister acknowledged the complexity of the situation, stating, “This restriction, while specific to account creation is a good starting point. We won’t stop pushing for real, meaningful reform.” Her commitment to advocating for change reflects a broader consensus among parents and child safety advocates that while challenges remain, efforts must continue to create a safer online environment.
As December 10 nears, we’ll all be keeping a very close eye on how the ban shambles into effect. This decision has the most significant long-term impact on what children can do online in Australia. The government’s decision should be a pivotal moment for digital safety. It draws attention to child welfare in our tech-fueled world.
