Labor backflip will add YouTube to social media ban for kids

Ronald Mizen, Tess Bennett and Sam Buckingham-Jones

Jun 23, 2025 – 10.00pm

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The Albanese government will backflip on exempting YouTube from its social media ban for people younger than 16 after advice from the eSafety Commissioner that the platform was the most likely place for children to view harmful content and that its carve-out made no sense.

Communications Minister Anika Wells was expected to announce the policy change after she received a 16-page report from commissioner Julie Inman Grant which criticised the Google-owned video platform being given a special exemption.

Ronald Mizen is the Financial Review’s political correspondent, reporting from the press gallery at Parliament House, Canberra.

Tess Bennett is a technology reporter with The Australian Financial Review, based in the Brisbane newsroom. She was previously the work & careers reporter.

Sam Buckingham-Jones is the media and marketing reporter at The Australian Financial Review.