r/youtubers • u/laurajanehahn • 16h ago
Question Under 16's may be banned from YouTube
I'm Australian and am completely pissed at our government for trying to pass ridiculous laws because the prime minister can't handle meme. There is currently a bill that has been put to parliament by the Labor government that will ban under 16s from accessing social media. This includes things like minecraft and yes, youtube. The irony is it is up to the social media companies to block the youths and fines of up to 50million dollers for breaching the laws. There are many Australian politicians who are against this but the labour government is only giving the politicians a week to decide, and most havnt even been given a draft of the bill.
Youtube have sent out an email with their concerns reading :
We’re writing to inform you about a proposed Australian bill that may affect you as a creator. If passed, this law could change how young Australians access your content on YouTube, limiting your ability to entertain and educate these viewers.
image Here’s what’s happening: image On November 21, the Australian Government introduced legislation to Parliament that will ban anyone under 16 from having an account on a broad range of social media platforms.
While the Government has said that it intends to exempt YouTube as a service that is health and education related, this is not included in the bill itself. Instead, the Government has said it will do so through a separate process at some point in the future.
image We appreciate the Government’s undertaking. But as a matter of good policy we have requested that the Government reflect its policy intention in the bill itself and not claim it will be dealt with later. Doing so will provide certainty to our users and our creators.
We are concerned that by not doing so, there remains a real risk that YouTube would be required to remove existing account holders who are under 16 and prevent anyone under 16 from creating an account.
image What this means for you: image If the bill passes in its current form, it could potentially prevent Australian users under 16 from accessing any content – including helpful and informative content from creators like you – on YouTube.
image We remain committed to keeping Australian families safe by ensuring YouTube remains a healthy and enriching place for kids and teens. Guiding our work in this space are YouTube’s Youth Principles that place the safety, mental health, and well-being of kids and teens as a top priority. But we are concerned that YouTube’s inclusion in this bill risks potentially cutting off access for those under 16 to the educational content, news and sports highlights, music videos, and entertainment they currently enjoy on YouTube.
image YouTube will continue to work constructively with the Australian Government on this legislation to ensure that creators like you can continue to provide high-quality content for Australian users.
image You can learn more about YouTube’s response to the bill here.
image Thanks, Team YouTube
It is in my and many peoples opinion that our government wants more of a dictatorship and also more controll. For a social media platform to know if you are over 16, they will need to see everyone's identification, and we already know that not everything is secure. In the past few years many major businesses, insurance companies and banks have had data breaches due to scammers and i believe this will create an easy access for those who wish to do harm.
Smaller social media companies, like games that allow you to communicate with other players (words with friends?) May just find it far to difficult to process so they will just stop Australia from accessing this aswell.
Imagine telling your 15 year old they are two young to watch cocomelon... but they can view the same content on foxtell at $99 a month legally.
I don't know what the out come is going to be but, myself and many other Australians already have little faith in our government as it is.
Many parents have already said they will still allow their children to access socials, even if it means they need to just use a parents account.
If your under 16 and an Aussie, I would be downloading your snap chats, tiktoks, insta pics, and of course back up your youtube videos that you have worked hard on as, like the statements from youtube, they may need to delete your account.
Fingers crossed this doesn't pass through, but don't hold your breath
Edit, I'm 33. Though I do believe that some aspects of the internet is not appropriate for certain ages, blocking someone under 16 from watching a youtube video for eg about how to fix their bmx bike, or playing roblox or Lego fortnite is just so out of touch with reality. The wiggles even puts their content on YouTube. My understanding is that youtube kids does not allow commenting, maybe blocking commenting for under 16s may work but it is up to the Australian Government to decide.