YouTube to lock thousands of Australian teens out of accounts as social media ban begins
YouTube has confirmed hundreds of thousands of under-16 users will be locked out of their accounts from next Thursday as Australia's social media ban takes effect.
YouTube has confirmed it will boot under 16 users out of signed-in accounts from next Thursday when the world-leading social media ban comes into effect.
The video platform says those users will be automatically signed out and barred from logging in from December 10, meaning they will not have access to subscriptions, likes, and playlist features, or default wellbeing tools like “Take a Break” and bedtime reminders.
Young people will still be able to watch YouTube while signed out, but parents will also lose access to supervised accounts and content controls for their children. Creators under 16 will be locked out of uploading videos or managing channels, with their content effectively hidden until they turn 16.
YouTube Kids is not affected.
A user’s age is determined by their Google account and “other signals”. YouTube said it “will continue to explore how we implement and apply appropriate age assurance”.
YouTube’s senior public policy manager Rachel Lord said “this is a disappointing update to share”.
“We deeply care about the safety of kids and teens on our platform; it’s why we spent more than a decade building robust protections and parental controls that families rely on for a safer YouTube experience. But as we have consistently said, this rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it,” she said.
“Even as the ban comes into effect next week, we will continue to work with the Australian government to advocate for effective, evidence-based regulation that actually protects kids and teens, respects parental choice, and avoids unintended consequences.”
The YouTube update comes a day before Meta begins to purge hundreds of thousands of under 16s from its platforms Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
Meanwhile, the online safety watchdog has put emerging platforms Lemon8 and Yope on notice, asking them to self-assess to determine whether they should be captured by the ban.
The apps, as well as Coverstar, have all surged in the charts in the lead-up to December 10.
Communications Minister Anika Wells will address the National Press Club today, saying the government expects some young users to still be on the platform in the next few weeks.
She will also say platforms may not be fined $50m straight away.
