Share and Follow
Communications Minister Anika Wells says The Wiggles lobbied her over the government’s decision to include YouTube in the under-16 social media ban legislation.
Wells was speaking on Today after the government reversed its decision to exempt the Google-owned video platform from the ban, due to begin in December.
“YouTube did send The Wiggles to try and persuade me to their position,” Wells said.
Should YouTube be banned for under 16s?
She says the children’s music group were a “treasured Australian institution”, but she refused to be swayed by lobbying from its management.
“But like I said to them, you’re arguing that my four-year-old twins’ right to have a YouTube login is more important than the fact that four out of 10 of their peers will experience online harm on YouTube, and they might be two of those four.
“And I just didn’t find that argument ultimately persuasive.”
The Wiggles have previously argued against including YouTube in the ban, saying that YouTube already included “stringent safeguards” for children and that by restricting access parents could be left with fewer safer options.
YouTube Kids is expected to be exempted from the ban.
Wells says the government is braced for a backlash from Google, including potential legal action.
”We have had threats come in. But this is too important for us not to have a crack. They are world leading laws.”
YouTube lobbied for the government to make it exempt from the ban, claiming it is a “video streaming platform” and not a social media platform.
It has now been added to the banned list for under 16s, joining Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat from December.
In a statement yesterday, a YouTube spokesperson told 9news.com.au it was considering its next move.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
