Debate: Australia’s child YouTube ban misses the mark — and Canada should not copy it

Australia’s move to restrict YouTube for children may sound protective, but it’s basically like showing up to brain surgery with a machete. Messy, over the top, and worse for said brain.

Come December, Australians under the age of 16 will be prohibited from having YouTube accounts. The video-sharing site will join a pack of other social media platforms — including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, X, and more — that are age restricted in the Down Under nation.

Canada should resist copying this approach because it doesn’t actually solve the problem. It just shifts the numbers around. Kids will still watch the same content — they’ll just borrow their mom’s account or another device to do so. The big bros at YouTube headquarters will suddenly think 45-year-old Kathy, who loves true crime, is binging slime videos suspiciously around the same time her son comes back home from school.

Is YouTube a library or just social media in a graduation gown? Tossing YouTube into the same bucket as TikTok or Instagram is like calling Harvard “just another playground.” Sure, there’s the Skibidi Toilet Series, but YouTube is also where half of the world’s population secretly learned how to cook fried rice properly (thank you, Uncle Roger).

Unlike other social media apps, YouTube’s “messaging” is basically shouting into the comment void and hoping someone hits like. It’s so impersonal that even cyberbullies get bored halfway through. Most of the inappropriate content gets taken down anyway, so what exactly are we shielding kids from? 

For students, YouTube is basically Khan Academy with cat videos. Cutting off users under 16 from having accounts is like taking away Mario’s powerups while letting everyone else keep playing. There are countless tutorials, project ideas, and light comedy on the platform — something as simple as Tom and Jerry episodes would be restricted for children. This means no more personalized feeds and hello true crime on autoplay right after radioactive slime.

Now, yes, YouTube comes with risks — addictive algorithms, exposure to questionable content, and binge watching until your eyes file a formal complaint — but banning young users just encourages them to use false login details, go into incognito mode, or head to less-regulated platforms, which is worse.

The smarter move? Teach parents how to actually use controls, give kids some digital street smarts, and make YouTube’s “recommendation magic” a little less like Russian roulette.

Adopting such a grave measure is like keeping with monarchy, even when power should rest with democracy. It’s merely symbolic and not effective. If Canada were to copy such a ban, youth would still access YouTube but without safer, regulated accounts.

So sure, let’s ban YouTube for those under 16 and watch genius-level problem-solving skills like “how to bypass parental controls” skyrocket because nothing says protection like officially endorsing sneakiness.

Australia’s new law may be well intentioned, but it misses the mark. YouTube isn’t just mindless entertainment — it’s education, creativity, and yes, even community. This is what Canada should remember before even thinking about following in Australia’s footsteps.

I believe that instead of playing Whac-A-Mole, Canada should teach teens to scroll wisely, while making big tech companies actually babysit their own platforms.