Google has claimed Australia’s impending social media ban for kids under 16 could make children less safe by removing parental controls.
The tech giant has not given up on its push for a YouTube exemption to the laws, which come into effect on December 10.
All child accounts active on that date would be disabled, but kids would still be able to watch without an account.
“Forcing kids to use YouTube without an account removes the very parental controls and safety filters built to protect them,” Rachel Lord, Google and YouTube’s public policy and government affairs manager, informed a Senate committee.
“It’s also the ability of parents to set up supervised accounts for their children.”
Lord said the restrictions also prevent a career path for emerging stars such as Troye Sivan, who found fame on YouTube.
“You don’t need to look too hard to find Australian success stories that started their career on YouTube,” Lord said.
Nicola Palfrey from Headspace mentioned that although young people were uncertain about the events following December 10, at least a third were confident they could bypass the restrictions.
Despite YouTube’s appeal to the Senate, Communications Minister Anika Wells informed executives from major social media platforms like Meta, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok that no exemptions will be made and the platforms are expected to implement the new restrictions.
