{"id":25637,"date":"2025-07-27T09:24:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T09:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/25637\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T09:24:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T09:24:06","slug":"youtube-makes-last-ditch-attempt-to-lobby-government-against-inclusion-in-under-16s-social-media-ban-australian-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/25637\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube makes last-ditch attempt to lobby government against inclusion in under-16s social media ban | Australian politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

YouTube is making a last-ditch effort to persuade the government not to include it in the under-16s social media ban<\/a>, objecting to what it says is an \u201cabrupt policy reversal\u201d and arguing the video service is not a social media platform.<\/p>\n

Google, YouTube\u2019s owner, will host a major event featuring popular YouTubers inside Parliament House this week, as a final decision looms on which tech platforms will be off-limits for children.<\/p>\n

But the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has voiced concern about content on YouTube, hinting the video platform may be included in the ban and dismissing Google\u2019s threat to sue the federal government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [communications] minister will make these assessments and we\u2019ll make these assessments \u2026 independent of any of these threats that are made by the social media companies,\u201d Albanese told the ABC\u2019s Insiders.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that young people are being impacted adversely in their mental health by some of the engagement with social media and that is why the government has acted,\u201d he said on Sunday. \u201cI\u2019ll be meeting with parents again this week of people who\u2019ve been through tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The communications minister, Anika Wells, will imminently announce the final makeup of the social media ban. Although former communications minister Michelle Rowland initially indicated YouTube would be part of the ban legislated in December 2024, the regulations exempted the Google-owned video site<\/a>. But last month, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, recommended YouTube be included in the ban<\/a> after all.<\/p>\n

YouTube\u2019s status in the ban has been contentious. Google criticised calls for it to be included, accusing Inman Grant of ignoring parents and teachers, and maintaining YouTube functioned differently to other apps. Meta, TikTok and Snapchat, meanwhile, all to be included in the ban, have campaigned against YouTube\u2019s carve out, calling it \u201cirrational\u201d.<\/p>\n

Google wrote to Wells last week, declaring it was considering its legal position if YouTube was included in the ban \u2013 including on grounds of whether it restricted the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.<\/p>\n

A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the company had written to the government, \u201curging them to uphold the integrity of the legislative process and protect the age-appropriate experiences and safeguards we provide for young Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government was firm in its decision that YouTube would be excluded because it is different and because of its value to younger Australians,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, signals that the Government is contemplating an abrupt policy reversal have prompted us to seek further clarity on this matter. Our position has always been clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform, not a social media service, that offers benefit and value to younger Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representatives from many tech companies and organisations will be in Canberra this week for industry events at Parliament House.On Wednesday is the annual \u201cGoogle at Parliament House\u201d event, a popular function spruiking Google products. Previous instalments have featured The Wiggles as entertainment. Invitations seen by Guardian Australia advertise local act The Rubens for this week\u2019s lineup.<\/p>\n

Invitations for the Google event, which has been issued in large numbers across parliament, spruik that guests can \u201chear from partners, businesses and meet some of Australia\u2019s most beloved YouTube Creators, including The Mik Maks and Never Too Small\u201d.<\/p>\n

Guardian Australia has reported<\/a> The Mik Maks, who make children\u2019s educational videos, had spoken out against YouTube\u2019s inclusion in the ban and written to Wells to support the Google company.<\/p>\n

Asked about the Google legal threat on Insiders, Albanese said the government had not made a final decision, but soon would. He pointed to the eSafety commission\u2019s research findings that four in 10 children in a survey had reported being exposed to harmful content on YouTube.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, her [Inman Grant\u2019s] recommendation is very clear,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that concerns some of the social media companies is that we are leading the world and I\u2019m proud that we\u2019re prepared to stand these people up effectively from their threats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YouTube is making a last-ditch effort to persuade the government not to include it in the under-16s social…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-25637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}