Anthony Albanese vows to stand up against threats of social media giants on ban for under-16s

The PM said a decision on whether or not to include YouTube in the under-16s age ban will be made “independent” from threats made by social media giants.

Anthony Albanese says Labor will stand up to “threats” from social media giants, following news Google has threatened to sue the federal government if YouTube us included in the under-16 social media ban.

The parent company of the videostreaming platform has written to Communications Minister Anika Wells stating it was considering a High Court challenge, adding a ban would diminish the “implied constitutional freedom of political communication,” The Daily Telegraph has reported.

While YouTube was not originally included in the social media ban, slated to start in December this year, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant has said the platform should not be exempt as it exposed children to harmful content.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Communications Minister Anika Wells had yet to make a decision on whether YouTube would be included in the under-16s social media ban. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

‘Leading the world’

Speaking to the ABC, the Prime Minister said a decision had yet to be made by Ms Wells, but said a conclusion would be made “independent of any of these threats that are made by the social media companies”.

“There is no doubt that young people are being impacted adversely in their mental health by some of the engagement with social media and that is why the government has acted,” he said.

“One of the things that concerns some of the social media companies is that we are leading the world and I’m proud that we’re prepared to stand these people up effectively from their threats.”

YouTube has repeatedly opposed the proposed ban, stating it offered educational benefits, and helps children and teenagers connect with communities and provide mental health information and support for marginalised groups.

The owners of YouTube, Google, has threatened the federal government with a High Court challence. Picture: NewsWire/ Aaron Francis

However Ms Inman-Grant has argued that, while the site does offer educational benefits, the video platform was “by far” the most used by children.

She also noted that under-16s would still be able to access YouTube without an account and teachers would also be able to use it as a learning tool in schools.

“And when we asked where they were experiencing harm and the kinds of harms they were experiencing, the most prevalent place where young Australians experienced harm was on YouTube – almost 37 per cent,” she said in July.

“This ranges from misogynistic content to hateful material, to violent fighting videos, online challenges, disordered eating, suicidal ideation.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese vows to stand up against threats of social media giants on ban for under-16s