Google won’t reveal if it is lobbying Trump about YouTube’s inclusion in Australia’s under-16s ban | YouTube

Google told parliament Australia’s social media ban on under-16s would be “extremely difficult to enforce” but did not say whether it had lobbied the Trump administration to include YouTube ahead of Anthony Albanese’s US visit.

On Monday, Google and Microsoft appeared before a Senate inquiry into a range of age assurance and verification requirements that apply to other aspects of the internet, including social media and search.

Rachel Lord, Google’s senior manager for government affairs and public policy in Australia and New Zealand, told the inquiry that the under-16 ban, which is expected to include YouTube, would have “unintended consequences” and would not make children safer.

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Lord told the inquiry: “Not only will the law be extremely difficult to enforce, but it also fails to deliver on its promise to make children safer online.”

“YouTube has invested heavily in designing age-appropriate products and industry-leading content controls and tools that empower parents to make choices on behalf of their families.

“Forcing kids to use YouTube without an account removes parental controls and safety filters built to protect them in sports, music, creative learning, and classrooms.”

Stefanee Lovett, the company’s director of government affairs and public policy, was asked whether Google was lobbying the US government on the issue ahead of the prime minister’s planned visit next week.

Lovett said Google colleagues in the US had been alerted to “a range of issues” being addressed in Australia but could not say whether the Trump administration had been lobbied.

“Senator, we noted that the Australian prime minister will be traveling to the US next week, and we’ve talked to some of our colleagues about a number of issues that we’re dealing with in Australia at the moment, so we can make sure they understand the situation,” he said in response to a question from Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chairs the committee.

Lord told the committee that the ban, which comes into effect on December 10, will affect safer access to YouTube services.

He also repeated Google’s claim that YouTube is not social media but “a video streaming platform that Australians use as a content library and learning resource”.

Lord said that once the ban on under-16s holding accounts goes into effect, features such as not autoplaying, pausing reminders, and turning off personalized ads will not be available to teens accessing YouTube while logged out.

Guardian Australia reported earlier this month the grounds on which Google could legally challenge the government over YouTube’s inclusion in its under-16 social media ban.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson tried to clarify He asked if a legal fight was still planned, but Lord did not answer directly.

“To be clear, at this point we continue to speak and engage constructively with the eSafety commissioner and the government on this issue,” Lord said.

Henderson said YouTube’s inclusion in the ban was a “betrayal” to young people, as the company was granted an exemption by the government when the law was developed and passed by parliament last year.

He said the Coalition, which is campaigning for a wider social media ban on under-16s, had received a number of complaints about YouTube’s inclusion.

TikTok, Snap and Meta were also invited to testify at the inquiry but did not appear despite meeting communications minister Anika Wells on Monday. Hanson-Young said the investigation would consider pushing companies to come forward.

Yahoo, age assurance providers, the eSafety commissioner, the privacy commissioner and digital rights and youth advocacy groups will appear before the committee on Monday.