YouTube Bows to Australia’s Teen Social Media Ban Despite Safety Concerns

YouTube has announced it will comply with Australia’s groundbreaking under-16 social media ban, beginning to sign out underage users from December 10. However, parent company Google has issued stark warnings that the legislation “won’t keep teens safer online” and fundamentally misunderstands how young people interact with digital platforms. The company argues that the rushed regulation could actually make Australian children less safe on the platform.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has pushed back against Google’s concerns, calling the company’s warnings “outright weird” and emphasizing that YouTube has a responsibility to maintain platform safety. Wells delivered these remarks during her address to the National Press Club, where she acknowledged the ban might take days or even weeks to fully implement but insisted the government wouldn’t back down from protecting young Australians.
The implementation means users under 16 will lose access to key features including subscriptions, playlists, likes, and wellbeing tools like “Take a Break” and bedtime reminders. Parents will also lose supervision capabilities over their children’s accounts, including content filtering and channel blocking options. Google’s Rachel Lord emphasized these losses in a blog post, arguing the law fails to recognize how young Australians actually use the platform.
In a significant development, Lemon8, a newer Instagram-style app that recently saw surging interest because it wasn’t initially included in the ban, will voluntarily restrict access to over-16s from next week. The eSafety Commissioner had been monitoring the platform closely for possible inclusion. The app, owned by ByteDance which also operates TikTok, made this decision after receiving communications from the eSafety Commission.
Wells made clear that all platforms are now on notice, warning that additional sites could be added to the ban if children migrate to currently unlisted platforms. She specifically mentioned LinkedIn as an example, stating that if it becomes a hub for online bullying or harmful algorithms targeting young teens, the government will take action. Platforms failing to remove underage users face penalties of up to 50 million dollars, though enforcement will begin gradually with the eSafety Commissioner collecting compliance data from December 11.