ANKARA

Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has recommended that YouTube be included in the government’s social media ban for young people under the age of 16, local media reported on Tuesday.

Australia is expected to ban social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and Snapchat for teens, with the final decision to be made by the communications minister, local broadcaster SBS News reported.

In November last year, Australia became the first country in the world to pass a law banning children from social media.

New laws are set to come into force at the end of this year, barring anyone age 16 or below from using platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and X.

YouTube was initially exempted from the legislation, but Grant said the government should not name specific platforms as exclusions.

"Our recommendation was that no specific platform be exempted because the relative risks and harms can change at any given moment," Grant said, addressing the online harms faced by children and the upcoming implementation of the teen social media ban.

"I think any platform that says they are absolutely safe is absolutely spinning words," she observed while addressing the National Press Club.

This recommendation, she added, would not stop teachers from showing educational YouTube content while logged out from the platform.

Google, which owns YouTube, said the platform is used in classrooms across Australia, urging the government to allow young Australians to continue to access the platform.

"YouTube is not a social media platform; it is a video streaming platform with a library of free, high-quality content, and TV screens are increasingly the most popular place to watch," a company spokesperson said.

According to new research, seven in 10 children have encountered content associated with harm, including misogynistic content, hate material, and content promoting disordered eating.

"YouTube was the most frequently cited platform, with almost four in 10 children reporting exposure to content associated with harm there," she added.

While 36% of kids most recently experienced online abuse from their peers there, another 36% experienced online bullying on messaging apps and 26% through online gaming platforms, according to the study.