Earlier this week eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant addressed the National Press Club, revealing that she had advised communications minister Anika Wells that YouTube should be included in the proposed social media ban, restricting access to social media platforms for kids aged under 16.
YouTube issued a statement early evening on Thursday that firmly says that blocking kids access would cause greater harm.
An under 16 ban would not block access to YouTube entirely for teens. It would just restrict them from being able to log in and access the social elements of the platform. Inman Grant contends that children would still be able to view education content on the platform in a “logged-out state.”
“The eSafety Commissioner’s advice for younger people to use YouTube in a “logged out” state deprives them of the age-appropriate experiences and additional safety guardrails we specifically designed for younger people,” said Rachel Lord, the Public Policy and Government Relations Senior Manager for YouTube Australia and New Zealand.
“YouTube is not a social media platform; it is a video streaming platform with a library of free, high-quality content. eSafety’s advice to include YouTube in the social media ban is in direct contradiction to the Government’s own commitment, its own research on community sentiment, independent research, and the view of Australian parents, teachers and other key stakeholders in this debate.”
According to YouTube, it offers age-appropriate experiences for kids, tweens, and teens through the dedicated YouTube Kids platform. It says that users under 18 are provided additional protections, including defaulting uploads to private, default wellbeing protections (take a break and bedtime reminders), blocking personalised ad targeting, and limiting repeated recommendations of videos related to certain sensitive categories (e.g. content that compares physical features and idealises some types over others).
The YouTube argument is that including it in the ban is unwarranted and unreasonable. It cited Australian Government research that found 85% of children and 68.5% of parents said YouTube was appropriate for those aged 15 years and under; in contrast to social media companies TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
In her National Press Club speech, Inman Grant referenced an eSafety survey of 2,600 children aged 10 to 15: “Alarmingly, around seven in 10 kids said they had encountered harmful content, including exposure to misogynistic or hateful material, dangerous online challenges, violent fight videos, and content promoting disordered eating.”