CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
As Australia gently navigates the ever-changing terms of a trade deal with the Trump administration, it seems that one major tech giant is attempting to further destabilises our nation’s footing when it comes to international diplomacy.
The Californian-based executives at Google are now threatening to sue the Australian government if YouTube is included in a social media ban for children under the age of 16.
As TikTok attempts uses billboards throughout Australian airports to rebrand as an ‘educational tool’ that teaches young people how to go fishing, YouTube are also hoping to distance themselves from the brainrot of late-stage social media algorithms.
This comes after tireless campaigning from Australian family groups and educators, who have documented a sharp uptick in mental illnesses and antisocial habits amongst young people who are now spending their most formative years in front of a screen.
As the tech giants insist that their platforms provide a sanitised and family-friendly experience for young people, there are far too many videos containing industrial worksite accidents, softcore pornography and political extremism for this argument to hold up.
Either way, it seems the content that Australian children are mainlining in their brain’s undeveloped reward systems are not even the major concern at this point.
On top of the dangers posed by strangers on the internet, there are also major concerns surrounding the effects that these platforms have on young people who’ve become victims to algorithmic endorphin hits that have been engineered by highly sophisticated San Francisco software developers whose number one motivation is to increase user screen time across the board.
But they aren’t going down without a fight.
Using no uncertain words, Google has sent a letter to communications minister Anika Wells, in which they have threatened to consider their legal position if the government decided to include YouTube in the changes.
The ban is due to come into effect in December this year, and will likely be as widely well received by Australian families and media commentators as the Howard-era gun laws.
