Kids who need access to YouTube for school might be in for a time when the social media ban comes into effect, as the government is now adding YouTube to the mix.
Social media may well mean the likes of Facebook and X and TikTok and Instagram to many, but it appears the world’s biggest video site now also qualifies.
As of the end of July, the Australian government has added YouTube to the list of social media platforms that will be blocked by the social media block for under 16s the government plans to have rolled out by December 2025, reversing a previous stance that YouTube wouldn’t be affected.
If that seems incredibly quick, you wouldn’t be alone. The whole thing feels rushed, complete with a response time of one day last year in November. Less important issues have been given more time, it seems.
YouTube definitely has risks for anyone under an adult age, largely due to online harms such as hateful content, misogyny, and eating disorders, to name a few. Though YouTube also has positives, and can be helpful for kids and teens, covering educational content in science, art, and music.
As such, this ban may affect those under 16s negatively, with school curriculum also negatively impacted. Kids as young as kindergarten may need to use YouTube as part of kindergarten homework when used with the Seesaw app, affecting their homework, to say the least.
The backflip isn’t a total surprise given comments made by the eSafety Commissioner earlier this year, but come without details on how the ban and its age check system will be implemented, likely being presented this week.
As it is, age verification systems overseas in the UK have already been shown to be defeated using a character from a video game, a sign that maybe AI age assurance checks aren’t quite ready for prime time. Australia’s own data on the area is just as murky, with the age checking technology mistaking kids for adults.
For YouTube, the company plans to fight, noting that:
“We share the Government’s goal of addressing and reducing online harms. Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It’s not social media,” said a spokesperson for YouTube.
“The Government’s announcement today reverses a clear, public commitment to exclude YouTube from this ban. We will consider next steps and will continue to engage with the Government.”
With only a few months to go before the government’s social media ban goes into effect, it seems the Australian government is ramping up what’s next. This despite the government’s previous acknowledgement that the ban won’t necessarily be enforceable given parents can go around it if they choose to.
