Baby Shark won't bite: YouTube entertainers issue plea

Leading Australian children's content creators fear being derailed by a social media age limit. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Australia’s most popular YouTube channel boasts 31 million subscribers, more than 24 billion views and many hot takes on the internet ear worm that is Baby Shark.

But the founders of Melbourne-based children’s entertainment channel Bounce Patrol also have serious concerns about the future of their business and industry after the announcement of the federal government’s proposed social media ban.

Even though the creators abide by strict YouTube Kids content rules, Shannon Jones says the long-standing account and many others like it could be hit unfairly by Australia’s world-first social media age limit.

“It’s putting YouTube, Instagram and adult sites all under the same umbrella and saying they have the same potential harm to children,” she says.

“Baby Shark isn’t going to create much harm, other than to annoy parents the world over.”

Her concerns come after the government outlined details of its proposal to raise the age limit for social media from 13 to 16 years, with the approval of National Cabinet and legislation to be introduced to parliament within days.

The prime minister has announced National Cabinet agreement on a social media ban for under-16s.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland also confirmed YouTube was expected to fall into the definition of a social network and the eSafety Commissioner would be tasked with identifying potential exemptions.

But technology experts say definitions under the ban are too broad and could deliver unintended consequences that put children and teens at a disadvantage rather than under greater protection.

It’s a concern shared by Ms Jones, who started the Bounce Patrol YouTube channel with “a bunch of theatre friends” 12 years ago and now employs 10 people to produce child-friendly, colourful and educational videos.

Its audience would not expect the YouTube Kids channel to be swept up in a ban, she says, and many would not consider YouTube as a social network.

“We get a lot of messages from parents saying we’re really grateful for the free education and my child learned to count from you or learned the alphabet from you, or my child is non-verbal and they’ve really engaged with the content you make,” she says.

“It will be really sad to see that taken away from Australian audiences and, from our perspective, really bizarre because people in America will be able to access this Australian content but Australians won’t be able to.”

Bounce Patrol, like other YouTube channels making content for children, had already made significant changes following the introduction of a US law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, in 2019.

Under the rules, YouTube Kids content is sorted into three age groups - under four years, five to eight years and nine to 12 years - and cannot include user comments, overly commercial content or material with violence or bad language.

Approved content is also shown with age-appropriate advertising, which Ms Jones says reduces revenue for creators but ensures young audiences are not exposed to harmful material.

Shannon Jones and Mark and Tina Harris
Shannon Jones and Mark and Tina Harris are urging government not to impose YouTube age limits.

It’s a process Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band co-founder Mark Harris also went through when he and his opera-singing wife Tina turned to YouTube when the COVID pandemic curtailed their touring plans.

More than one million people have subscribed to their YouTube Kids channel, full of jazz-filled educational videos, that feature no comments or interactive elements.

The one-way entertainment, Mr Harris says, makes YouTube Kids more like a broadcast platform than a social network and should ensure it is not swept up in an age ban.

“We understand why protections on social media for young people should be put in place and we wholly agree with that in principle,” he says.

“It’s inappropriate to apply the same restrictions being proposed for Facebook and Instagram to content made for kids.”

Banning kids from accessing age-appropriate videos online, Mr Harris says, could also exacerbate the lack of children’s entertainment being produced for TV.

“If kids are locked out of the platform completely in Australia, it doesn’t bode well for the future of being a kids’ content creator,” he says.

“It’s already hard enough in the traditional screen landscape, with funding being pulled globally for children’s productions.”

A report prepared for the South Australian government by former High Court chief justice Robert French did recommend YouTube be included in social media age restrictions, however, and Ms Rowland confirmed the Google-owned video site would “likely fall within” the definition of a social media service.

Logos of mayor social media companies
There are concerns YouTube, Instagram and adult sites will all be lumped under the same umbrella.

Following a National Cabinet meeting on Friday, however, she said the social media ban would also feature exemptions governed by the eSafety Commissioner and YouTube Kids could be a candidate for one.

“YouTube is likely to fall within that scope of age-restricted services,” she said.

“YouTube Kids is a different product but, of course, it would need to balanced against a set of criteria.”

The need for exemptions underlines the wide reach of the current proposal, RMIT information sciences Professor Lisa Given says, which could stop children from accessing low-risk resources like LinkedIn and teachers from tapping into online content.

“Educational organisations use YouTube regularly as a learning tool and have come to rely on a lot of excellent content on that platform,” she says.

The proposal’s broad definition also has the potential to distract from the intent of the law, Prof Given says, which should be to limit the spread of bullying, threatening, violent and abhorrent content from social media platforms.

“What I worry about is that we’re not having a different conversation, which is around how to enforce or to ask the tech companies to remove harmful content at the source,” she saysd.

“At the end of the day, the problem is actually the potential harm that we’re seeing on social media that all of us face.”

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store