YouTube Ban for under 16s in Australia?

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Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, is shaking things up when it comes to the upcoming ban on social media use for kids under 16 — and YouTube is right at the center of it.

In a response to Communications Minister Anika Wells, Inman Grant has submitted a list of five major recommendations about how the draft rules should be shaped before the ban takes effect later this year.

And one of the biggest shocks? She’s suggested that YouTube be removed from the exemption list entirely.

Right now, YouTube is actually excluded from the ban in the draft rules — something the previous Communications Minister had allowed — but no one has really explained why.

According to eSafety, this just doesn’t make sense.

“While YouTube has many educational and positive uses,” the eSafety office said, “its popularity among kids and its design features that can expose them to harmful content don't align with the goal of reducing harm.”

A recent Youth Survey from eSafety backs this up:

• 76% of kids aged 10 to 15 said they’ve used YouTube — making it more popular than TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat.

• Among 10 to 12-year-olds, it’s especially dominant.

  
  

The Commissioner’s concern is that YouTube isn’t all that different from the platforms that are facing the ban. It uses the same types of persuasive features — auto-play, infinite scroll, algorithm-driven recommendations, and social engagement metrics — all of which can encourage overuse and increase exposure to harmful content.

In other words, if TikTok is getting banned for those reasons, why should YouTube get a pass?

Aside from the YouTube recommendation, Inman Grant also wants the government to:

• Add a clear explanation to the rules, outlining the intent of the social media age restrictions,

• Look at both the purpose of a platform and its potential risks when deciding what falls under the ban.

Minister Wells is now reviewing all of the eSafety Commissioner’s recommendations and will decide how to move forward before the rules are formally introduced to Parliament.

So — could YouTube be kicked off the “safe” list? We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s clear the debate is far from over.

Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.