YouTube says Australia’s new law banning under-16s from holding social media accounts will make children less safe on its platform by removing parental supervision tools when the rules take effect on 10 December.
YouTube says parental controls will be lost
From 10 December, children under 16 will be automatically signed out of their YouTube accounts. They will still be able to watch videos, but without being logged in. As a result, parents will no longer be able to supervise their child’s account through content restrictions, channel blocking, or other safety settings.
Default wellbeing features such as reminders to take breaks or go to bed will also no longer function because they only apply to account holders. YouTube Kids is not covered by the ban.
In a statement on Wednesday, YouTube said it would comply with the law but warned that the changes would undermine more than a decade of work building safety tools for families. Rachel Lord, public policy senior manager at Google and YouTube Australia, said the law would not make children safer on the platform.
“Most importantly, this law will not fulfil its promise to make kids safer online, and will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube,” she wrote. She added that parents and educators shared those concerns.
Government rejects YouTube’s safety claims
Communications Minister Anika Wells said it was “outright weird” for YouTube to highlight safety risks linked to its own platform.
“If YouTube is reminding us all that it is not safe … that’s a problem that YouTube needs to fix,” Wells said on Wednesday.
She said early issues were expected after the ban begins but said regulation and cultural change take time. Wells also said children today experience “constant access” to social media through notifications and algorithms, which she described as “stealing their attention for hours every day”.
She said the law was intended to protect “Generation Alpha,” referring to children under 15, from what she said were habit-forming digital systems. The government will require technology companies to submit six-monthly reports showing how many under-16 accounts they hold.
Firms that fail to comply face fines of up to A$49.5m (US$33m, £25m). Companies must deactivate existing accounts, block new sign-ups, and prevent workarounds.
Regulator targets new teen apps
YouTube’s warning comes as Australia’s online safety regulator turns attention to lesser-known platforms that have gained popularity among teenagers ahead of the ban.
The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has asked Lemon8 and Yope to assess whether they fall under the law. Lemon8 is owned by the same parent company as TikTok. Both apps have seen a recent increase in downloads by Australian teens.
YouTube exemption reversed earlier this year
The government initially exempted YouTube from the ban but reversed that decision in July. The eSafety Commissioner said YouTube was “the most frequently cited platform” where children aged 10 to 15 reported seeing harmful content.
YouTube has described the legislation, introduced under the Social Media Minimum Age Act, as “rushed” and said it failed to allow enough consultation on the practical impact of removing supervised accounts.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, has reportedly considered a legal challenge to the platform’s inclusion in the ban but did not respond to a BBC request for comment.
Platforms covered by the ban
The ban applies to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, Twitch, Threads, Reddit, and Kick.
Featured image credits: Freepik
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