Social Media Companies Decry YouTube’s Exemption from Australian Ban

Social media companies have expressed outrage that YouTube is exempt from the forthcoming ban in Australia that bars anyone under the age of 16 from using platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The landmark legislation was approved by Australia’s parliament in November and when it comes into effect toward the end of 2025, it will set a benchmark for strict social media rules.

Google has successfully lobbied the Australian government to remove YouTube from the list of banned platforms which includes TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and X. The companies are liable for fines of up to $49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million) if they fail to prevent children from holding accounts.

YouTube is exempt from the ban because it has been deemed a key educational tool and children will be allowed to access the service as part of a family account, supervised by parents.

However, Meta has taken exception to this: arguing that a user experiences algorithmic reccomendations, social interaction, and exposure to harmful content — features that were cited by Australia to justify the ban.

“YouTube’s exemption is at odds with the purported reasons for the law and we call on the government to ensure equal application of the law across all social media services,” says Meta. “Given YouTube is the most popular social media service among young Australians, its exclusion from the ban law is in direct contradiction to the government’s stated intent.”

TikTok, meanwhile, calls YouTube’s exclusion a “sweetheart deal”, decrying it as “irrational and indefensible.”

“While experts may debate the merits of restricting teens’ access to social media, now that Parliament has delivered its verdict, Australians deserve a system that works and industry deserves a level playing field,” TikTok says in a statement.

“Handing one major social media platform a sweetheart deal of this nature — while subjecting every other platform in Australia to stringent compliance obligations — would be illogical, anti-competitive, and shortsighted.”

A mental health and extremism expert tells Reuters that YouTube can pose exactly the same sort of risk to children as other sites. YouTube, for its part, says it has ramped up moderation efforts and is broadening its definition of harmful content.

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