Our Opening Statement to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee

Good morning, Chair and esteemed Members of the Committee.

My colleagues and I are grateful for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Google has been operating in Australia for 23 years and proudly partners with government, business, and the community.

In 2024, Google supported $53 billion in Australian economic activity. YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over $970 million to Australia’s GDP and supported more than 16,000 full time jobs in 2024.

We are supporting the nation’s digital transformation through our $1 billion Digital Future Initiative and through our secure digital infrastructure investments in Australia and across the Pacific.

Australia is one of the best places in the world to raise a family. There are great services, strong communities, and every opportunity for children to learn and grow.

But we recognise Australian children and parents face challenges with today’s technology.

At Google and YouTube, we take seriously our responsibility to keep younger users safe.

We are committed to working with governments and regulators to find the right solutions.

The Government’s plan to ban social media use for under 16s may be well-intentioned but in practice risks unintended consequences.

The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfill its promise of making kids safer online.

YouTube has invested heavily in designing age appropriate products and industry-leading content controls and tools that allow parents to make choices for their families. Forcing kids to use YouTube without an account removes the very parental controls and safety filters built to protect them.

Across sport, music, creative learning and classrooms, YouTube is used by millions of Australian children to develop skills that support their education, growth and wellbeing. The proposed approach risks inadvertently impacting safer access to these valuable services and information important for kids’ learning and development.

This law fundamentally misunderstands what YouTube is: it’s a video streaming platform that Australians use as a content library and learning resource - it’s not social media.

Well crafted legislation can be an effective tool to build on industry efforts to keep children and teens safer online.

But the solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online, it’s about making sure platforms have relevant guardrails in place and empowering parents with the tools and confidence they need to guide their children’s online experiences.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear today and we look forward to taking your questions.