YouTube cites Troye Sivan as reason for exemption from social media ban

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, told 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 said while young people were unsure of what would happen on December 10, at least a third were sure they would get around the restrictions.

Despite YouTube’s plea to the Senate, Communications Minister Anika Wells today told executives from social media giants Meta, Snapchat, YouTube and Tiktok there will be no exemptions and the platforms will be expected to facilitate the new restrictions.