A new poll has found that the majority of Australian adults support the federal government’s YouTube ban for under 16s, but almost one third of parents say they will help their children circumvent the laws.
DemosAU’s poll of 1,079 Australians found 56% of people support the inclusion of YouTube in the social media ban for under-16s, while 29% opposed and 15% answered don’t know.
Among parents of children aged 16 and under, 59% supported the ban, with 34% opposed, while 7% answered “don’t know”.
In a follow-up question asking parents if they would help their child circumvent the YouTube ban by giving them access to the parent’s account or creating a new adult account for their child, 32% said they would, while 55% of parents planned not to.
YouTube Ban supporters cite safety concerns, opponents highlight educational content + parent choice
DemosAU’s research also included a qualitative element, probing 331 parents via Conversational AI-assisted surveying on the reasons for their views.
The main reasons from parents with children under 16 for supporting the YouTube ban included exposure to inappropriate content (62%) and psychological and health risks (27%).
But for parents who opposed the ban, the majority pointed to the educational value of YouTube content (53%), while 48% indicated it was for freedom of choice.
One respondent indicated “There’s good entertainment, music and learning videos there. I think it’s up to the parents to monitor kids and teach them what is and isn’t okay to be watching.”
Support for ban is widespread
DemosAU Director of Research George Hasanakos said there was broad support for the social media ban, the number of parents willing to help their kids flout the proposed law was significant
“Based on our previous poll, two-thirds of Australian adults support the social media ban for under 16s in general and this research indicates there is majority support to include YouTube in the ban.
“However, there is a significant cohort of parents – around a third – who oppose the ban in relation to YouTube and plan to help their children to get around it. This is a statistic the government and other stakeholders should be aware of.”
“It’s clear that the majority of people are concerned about the harmful effects of social media on children’s mental health and development but there are mixed views on how far the government should go in restricting use.”
Read the report in full.
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About the poll:
The poll of 1,079 Australians was conducted via internet panel on 31 July 2025. The effective margin of error was +/- 3.7%.
