Google deemed Australia’s social media age ban as “extremely difficult” to implement

On Monday (October 13), Google declared that the new law requiring social media companies to ban the accounts of users who are under 16 years old was “extremely difficult to implement.” Moreover, the representative from Google emphasized that the law would not achieve the intended goal of keeping children safe on the internet.

The law mandating a ban on under-16s was passed by the parliament in November 2024 and gave tech companies a year to comply. After the enforcement of this act in December 2025, Australia will become the first country around the globe to ban users under 16 from using social media platforms. The law requires social media companies to deactivate accounts belonging to users under 16 by Dec. 10, 2025, as part of the government’s efforts to address concerns about the mental health impact of social media on young users.

During a parliamentary hearing in Sydney on Monday, the senior manager of government affairs of YouTube, Rachel Lord, said that, although the programme was well-intended, it was technically and practically difficult. 

“The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, but it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online,” Lord told lawmakers.

The companies under the law are not required to ask the user to provide their identity documents. Instead, the platform needs to implement AI to accurately estimate the ages of users through their behavioural data. Google officials said this approach would likely be unreliable and may raise privacy concerns.

The first draft of the law, which was passed by the parliament, didn’t include YouTube as it was used by schools for educational purposes; however, in July 2025, the Australian government also included YouTube on the list of websites, being barred for under-16s. The change came after other technology companies complained of unfair treatment. However, Google has argued against this, calling YouTube a video-sharing platform only, and it doesn’t align with the aspects of social media platforms.

Lord said Google supports stronger online safety standards, but argued that restricting access was not the right solution. 

“Well-crafted legislation can be an effective tool to build on industry efforts to keep children safer online,” she said. “But the solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online.”

Governments and technology companies around the world are reportedly keeping a close eye on the law, as it will serve as a prototype on how to curb the use of digital platforms by minors. Other nations, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, are also contemplating such measures.