Highlights:
YouTube has raised strong concerns about Australia’s upcoming social media restrictions, arguing that the country’s “rushed” new laws will ultimately make children less safe online. Under the Social Media Minimum Age Act, all users under 16 will be blocked from maintaining accounts on major platforms starting December 10.
According to YouTube, the policy will strip away important parental control tools and force young teens into a less protected online environment.
In a statement, the company warned that from the day the ban takes effect, parents will “lose their ability to supervise their teen or tween’s account,” which includes tools like content filters, channel blocking, and viewing restrictions.
While kids under 16 will still be able to watch videos, they will no longer be able to log in, meaning they cannot upload content, comment, or access features tied to personal accounts. YouTube Kids, however, will remain available.
Communications Minister Anika Wells criticized YouTube’s position, calling it “outright weird” that the company would highlight how unsafe its platform may be for young users. “If YouTube is reminding us all that it is not safe … that’s a problem YouTube needs to fix,” she said during a Wednesday (3) address.
The dispute comes as Australia’s online safety regulator turns its attention to newer apps that have quietly attracted teen users ahead of the ban. Lemon8, owned by TikTok’s parent company, and a lesser-known platform called Yope, have both seen a spike in downloads, prompting eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant to request that the companies self-assess whether they fall under the new restrictions.
YouTube was originally exempt from the ban, but the government reversed that decision in July. The eSafety Commissioner cited the platform as the “most frequently reported” site where children ages 10 to 15 encountered harmful or inappropriate content.
Rachel Lord, Google and YouTube Australia’s senior manager for public policy, said the new law undermines more than ten years of work the company has put into creating “robust protections and parental controls that families rely on.”
She argued that the ban “will not fulfill its promise to make kids safer online” and will instead remove the safeguards that help parents oversee what their children watch. She also criticized the legislation as “rushed regulation that misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it.”
In addition to account loss, younger viewers will no longer receive default digital well-being tools—such as prompts to take breaks or go to bed—because those features only apply to signed-in users.
Google has reportedly explored legal options to challenge the ban, though the company has not commented publicly on that possibility.
Minister Wells acknowledged that “teething problems” were likely in the initial weeks but insisted the law is necessary. She argued that Generation Alpha, children under 15, are exposed to an endless “dopamine drip” of online content and must be protected from algorithms that monopolize their attention.
Under the new rules, platforms that fail to deactivate under-16 accounts or prevent new sign-ups could face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$33 million). The ban applies not only to YouTube but also to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Twitch, Threads, Reddit, and Kick.
