‘Deliberately misled the public’: Shadow minister slams Albanese’s ‘Youtube U-turn’
The shadow communications minister has slammed the Albanese government’s decision to include Youtube in a list of platforms set to be banned for children, calling it “a blatant broken promise to the Australian people”.
The government today reversed its earlier decision to allow children under 16 “continued access” to the video platform once the amended Online Safety Act comes into play in December, with Youtube now joining Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, and X on the to-be-banned list.
Children will still have access to gaming platforms, educational sites, messaging apps, and health services.
Albanese initially stated that Youtube would be designated as one of the “services and apps that are primarily for the purposes of education and health support”, naming the platform alongside other vital services such as Headspace, Google Classroom, and Kids Helpline in a November media release.
Melissa McIntosh
Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh issued a statement today arguing that Youtube’s specific exclusion from the amendment “was the premise on which the legislation passed the Parliament” and pointing out that Albanese “also issued two media releases clearly stating YouTube would not be included in the social media age minimum and the government wrote to YouTube affirming that a re-elected Labor government would keep YouTube’s exemption.”
McIntosh claimed the government “deliberately misled the public at the last election by promising to keep Youtube out of the social media age minimum.”
She adds: “The Prime Minister and the Labor government reaffirmed YouTube’s exemption before the election. They gave YouTube an iron-clad guarantee they would remain exempt. It makes you question what has really changed behind the scenes in the government on this issue, and whether it was an election stunt.”
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young dismissed the entire ban for under 16s as a “blunt instrument” in parliament today.
“Just hoping that these big social media companies will do the right thing is delusional — it’s delulu,” she said, echoing the PM use of the slang term in March.
“We need them to be licensed, we need rules and laws that are enforceable, and we need to make sure they have a duty of care to their users,” she continued.
“A blanket ban is simply a blunt instrument that will not make kids safer, we know that kids are going to get around it.”
She said the backflip on Youtube shows the plan is “a mess”, saying “the fact that young people have virtually been left out of this conversation says everything.
“This is more about boomers, than generation Z and millennials.”
A Youtube spokesperson said in a statement issued to Mumbrella: “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 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.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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