YouTube has expressed concerns regarding Australia's new legislation, which is set to restrict access for users under 16. The platform states that these laws will reduce child safety by removing established parental controls.
Impact on Parental Controls
YouTube claims that parents will lose the ability to supervise their children's accounts, including managing content settings and blocking specific channels, once the ban commences on December 10. While accounts for under-16s will be restricted, children will still be able to view videos without a logged-in account.
Rachel Lord, Public Policy Senior Manager at Google and YouTube Australia, described the Social Media Minimum Age Act as "rushed regulation" that she believes misunderstands the platform and how young Australians use it. Lord stated that the law would "make Australian kids less safe on YouTube" and undermines more than a decade of work on safety protections and parental controls.
Government's Response
Communications Minister Anika Wells characterized YouTube's highlighting of potential dangers on its platform for children as "outright weird." Wells asserted that if YouTube is perceived as unsafe, the responsibility to address those issues lies with YouTube itself.
Broader Regulatory Actions
Simultaneously, Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has requested two other applications, Lemon8 and Yope, to conduct self-assessments regarding their compliance with the impending social media ban. Lemon8, developed by the creators of TikTok, and Yope are video and photo-sharing applications that have recently experienced increased downloads.
The Australian government reversed an exemption for YouTube from the ban in July. The eSafety Commissioner had previously cited YouTube as the "most frequently cited platform" where children aged 10 to 15 encountered "harmful content." YouTube has confirmed its intention to comply with the new legislation.