The Australian government has confirmed video-sharing platform YouTube will be included in the upcoming social media ban for children aged 16 and under.

Catherine Jane Archer, Edith Cowan University; Catherine Page Jeffery, University of Sydney; Faith Gordon, Australian National University; Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University, and Tama Leaver, Curtin University

In recent days, the platform – owned by Google – attempted to persuade the Australian government to remain excluded from the upcoming ban. The restrictions are due to come into force in December this year.

Last month, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant advised the government to remove the proposed exemption on YouTube from the upcoming ban. She cited YouTube’s “persuasive design” and algorithmic recommendations that keep young people scrolling.

YouTube has argued it is “not a social media service” and “offers benefit and value to younger Australians”.

Has the government made the right decision? We asked five experts if YouTube should be included – four out of five said no, but all expressed broader concerns about the ban. Here are their detailed answers.

Catherine Jane Archer, Senior Lecturer, Communication, Edith Cowan University; Catherine Page Jeffery, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Sydney; Faith Gordon, Associate Professor in Law, Australian National University; Joanne Orlando, Researcher, Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University, and Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University

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