YouTube’s exclusion from Australia’s teen social media ban is up for debate

Australian legislators are considering whether to include YouTube in a law that will restrict access to social media for users under the age of 18. That debate has now raged on for months, and observers from across the globe are paying attention.

The law in question was passed in November 2024, but it won’t go into effect until December 2025. That has given Down Under regulators more than a year to figure out critical nuances of the statute, including its scope and the mechanisms that will be used to enforce it.

The hottest question, at least in terms of press coverage, is YouTube’s status under the law. The initial list of apps that will be subjected to the ban included most major social hubs, including TikTok, Snapchat, X, Facebook, and Instagram. YouTube earned a notable exception by convincing the Australian government that its video library has educational uses and that it is “not a core social media application.”

That subjective decision led us to question where the line should be drawn between social media platforms and entertainment hubs, and it also led to rebuttals from some of YouTube’s biggest rivals. Companies like TikTok argued that the exception was nothing more than a “sweetheart deal” built on “illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted” logic.

With six months to go until the ban takes effect, at least one Australian power player is listening to those complaints. The nation’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, advised lawmakers to make the ban “fair, consistent, and proportional” by including YouTube. She cited the platform’s popularity and its breadth of extremist content as reasons why it should be restricted among young users.

“[Harmful YouTube content] ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation,” Inman Grant said. She expressed surprise that YouTube received its exception in the first place, though she noted that “my job isn’t to endorse the legislation, it’s to enforce the rules.”

YouTube quickly fired back with a sharp rebuke. “Today’s position from the eSafety Commissioner represents inconsistent and contradictory advice, having previously flagged concerns the ban ‘may limit young people’s access to critical support,'” said YouTube Public Policy and Government Relations Manager Rachel Lord. “eSafety’s advice ignores Australian families, teachers, broad community sentiment and the government’s own decision.”

Though the law will only affect Antipodean under-18 social media users, its unprecedented nature has drawn widespread attention outside of Australia. If the national government can find an effective way to keep teenagers off the restricted apps, it would set a model other countries would surely follow. And if certain platforms manage to shield themselves from these types of bans, it would send a message that regulators are more beholden to corporate interests than the teenagers who are currently enduring a youth mental health crisis.

All of these questions are still a long way from being answered, so look for more coverage of this developing story over the next six months. As someone who lives in a country where the local social media ban keeps getting pushed back, I’m waiting for Australia to set an example — and for the U.S. to decide whether it will follow that lead.