The federal Nationals’ youth branch has called to dump the under-16s social media ban, amid a growing Coalition push against the world-leading laws coming into effect from next week.
Coalition members including leader Sussan Ley, Andrew Bragg and Matt Canavan have voiced alarm at the looming 10 December commencement, despite the opposition waving through parliament legislation that specified the date and the party’s former leader Peter Dutton championing the ban.
The Young Nationals have urged the government to scrap the law entirely, saying it would hurt regional Australians.
“Many young Australians in regional and remote areas rely on social media to stay connected with their family, community and mates – this ban risks cutting those kids off, inadvertently making the youth mental health crisis worse, especially in our regions,” the Young Nationals president, Charlie Plant, said.
Charlie Plant, Federal Young Nationals President, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, November, 2025. Photograph: Young LNP Facebook Page
“The ban will push kids to seek out riskier, unregulated means to access these online spaces. The ban will fail to prevent young Australians accessing these platforms, succeeding only in preventing them from doing so in a safe, legal and supervised environment.”
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Plant claimed cyberbullying and mental health issues would still endure – “just beyond the reach of parents and regulators”. The Young Nationals instead want a classification system for social media, similar to that for movies and TV, so parents could set rules for their own children, as well as mandating electronic devices to integrate parental controls.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was contacted for comment. Canavan, who strongly opposed YouTube’s inclusion in the ban, on Thursday called the legislation “draconian”.
“This is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is not going to reduce the harm of social media by much but it will create a whole lot of other problems,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Good on the Young Nationals for standing up for young people in Australia. The social media ban is going to make matters so much worse.”
Communications minister, Anika Wells, defended the law in a National Press Club address on Wednesday, saying it was strongly supported by parents to address mental health, bullying and online addiction among children.
“What I have had is countless Australian parents come up to me and say thank you…. What we’re doing with this is giving those parents another weapon in the arsenal in this fight. Like I said, it’s not a cure. It’s a treatment plan. And obviously, not everyone’s going to agree with these laws,” she said.
“We now have so much data and evidence, about what is happening to our kids online, that we feel we must act.”
The ban passed parliament with Coalition support last November. But simmering concern among the Liberals and Nationals about the ban, the success of age verification technology and the response of leading social media companies – some of which haven’t yet told users what to expect or how they will comply with the ban – has grown in recent days.
Ley on Wednesday claimed “I have no confidence in this working”, describing the under-16s ban as a “botched failure”.
On Thursday Ley doubled down.
“We want to see parents, children and the community reassured that this will be done properly and it will be done well. Under this minister [Wells], we have not got that assurance,” she said.
Shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, has voiced reservations about the policy for some time, including around imperfect age verification technology as evidenced in the government trial.
“My concern is it won’t do what it’s intended to do, to protect Australian children. It was a Coalition policy and I support the intent, but it’s morphing into something else,” she claimed.
“You need to get the technology right. The government set the [10 December] deadline, there were errors in the trial but they continued with the deadline. The minister is now softening language, saying they need time and it won’t be perfect. That’s not good enough.”
Wells said on Wednesday that social media users would not be compelled to present government ID, criticising “the dog whistle campaign encouraged by my Coalition counterpart.”
Liberal shadow minister, Andrew Bragg, last week posted on X: “Why is YouTube being banned? Is this still Australia?”
He told Guardian Australia that he was concerned about the designated social media companies being handled by regulation rather than legislation in parliament.
“We were told YouTube was out. I don’t see why it should be in. We can’t have a bureaucracy run the country like this,” he said.
