Dumb decision. YouTube has tons of educational content. We all have used YouTube since childhood. Why ban it for the next generation?

https://www.livemint.com/news/world/australia-to-ban-youtube-for-children-under-16-to-shield-them-from-predatory-algorithm-11753859020683.html

The story is not as black-and-white as you think. I grew up learning music, living in Bangalore. Officially, I was learning the keyboards in the music class I was enroled in, but I wanted to self-teach myself the piano (the difference between the two instruments essentially is that with the keyboard, you can add artificial accompanyments while playing and the left-hand usually merely has to play cords, while on the piano, if you need accompanyments, you have to have people play other instruments (e.g., violin) and the left hand is usually expected to do a lot more work).

I fell in love with western classical music from about the age of 11 and started learning the piano myself by ear, by painstakingly learning individual pieces from recordings made by the big names of classical music (Dame Mitsuko Uchida, Vladimir Horowitz, etc). Had to do it this way, partly because (1) my official music teacher knew jack about classical music and going to one who did necessitated certain immense problems which could have made life very difficult as my academic studies became increasingly pressurised; and (2) the learning by ear had to happen, instead of the more conventional method of learning by access to sheet music, because I am completely blind and never had access to Braille music scores or the teaching needed to learn it (learning to read Braille for other contexts in life is very different from learning Braille music, not even considering the financial and logistical headaches of obtaining Braille scores of well-known but still complex pieces, such as that of Beethoven's Sonata no. 8 in C Minor, called the “Pathétique” sonata). Not to blow my own trumpet too much, but all this hard work paid off in my developing a reputation for being a good performer, and, until the COVID pandemic, I performed regularly at my music school's and academic school's concerts (and at other places besides). Somehow, never could get back to performing afterwards due to the pressures of starting university and studying law.

And where, you might ask, did I obtain such recordings? Off YouTube of course! Where else? Are you trying to tell me that every potentially talented musician in Australia, even in such out-of-the-way spots such as the Grampians or other places in the outback (forgive me, my knowledge of Australian geography is limited to casual reading + one visit at age 16), has access to quality music teaching? And/or to Braille music scores of some of the most complex pieces of all time? That would be a very surprising claim, if that's what you were to be saying. If not, you'd need to provide a reasonable explanation for how someone in equivalent circumstances to mine (blind or partially sighted, enthusiastic about learning music, good at it and not having a music teacher who could properly guide) would be able to learn more advanced music on their own, with as few financial or logistical headaches as possible.

Sure, there are age verification checks. I am happy to agree on that. Even put limitations on what content kids can access, I can't see a problem with that. But the idea of cutting off YouTube access entirely has the potential to be, hopefully as this detailed example should have illustrated, a dangerous path to go down. Banning FB, X,, Snapchat, Insta and TikTok? My 100% full support. That needed to be done, it's good that the Australians took a lead and others should follow in their footsteps. But this? Not so good.

Does the law prohibit parents from going on youtube, finding videos of music lessons and having their kids watch them? No. Does the law even prohibit children from finding age appropriate youtube videos for themselves? likely not. What the law does prohibit is for young people to have their own accounts. using which they can be groomed into producing CSA material, or be exposed to other sorts of harmful material. Algorithms are real and these companies have no incentive to not constantly feed your kid content that keeps them engaged and in mental distress. Do you even know what it is that youre concerned about or is this some ill informed knee jerk reaction? So much outrage can be avoided if people did the basic due diligence of finding out what it is that the other side is seeking to achieve.

Youtube is just a digital library, theres all sorts of content on there that adults may be mature enough to consume responsibly (debatable) but children are not. The solution to problems like yours are to fund childrens libraries so they have access to all the resources children should appropriately have. Not to entrust companies who still knowingly allow CSA material on their platforms with the minds of kids. This is basic safeguarding.

1. As far as I am able to understand, the ban goes much further than merely banning the things you said. It seems to be an almost blanket ban.

2. Of course, you are right regarding the funding of libraries. Everything I said is based on the assumption that that won't happen, because governments tend not to fund stuff if they can help it. Especially stuff like music CDs, scores etc. A CD of Beethoven's violin concertos outside India costs over $150 on Amazon. Which government (or even community fund, such as a Home Owners' Association or whatever) will be willing to give that kind of money? Of course, I will be more than happy if you can find one such!

3. The reality is that parents, beyond a point, can't do much. Of course they must be there to guide. Of course they should supervise what the kid is doing. But the kid needs a level of freedom as well. They may find pathways of exploration that their parents do not have time to help them with. Parents have their own lives to carry on with - jobs to go to, household bills to pay, perhaps other (maybe younger?) children to look after. Doing things like what I described is a very organic process. Your mum or dad isn't at your beck and call. You might have found a particular passage of a piece immensely difficult for days, weeks, perhaps even months on end. Then suddenly, one day, something clunks into place in your head, you know what to do, you just need to listen and correspond what you are hearing with your own hand movements on your piano. Your parents may be away at that time and you may not have access to their credentials or devices in that way. What do you do then? There are practical realities to be contended with, these are just some. What's the solution for those things you talked about? Age verification - proper age verification, perhaps combined with things like safe search. I am more than happy to engage in a reasonable discussion of what other methods you could use to prevent the access to harmful content, as long as you are willing to be a little less angry. Naturally, these are difficult and emotional issues for many, as lives have been destroyed due to accessing of harmful content. But that's even more reason we work extra hard not to get angry about this.

Of course I am concerned with safeguarding - no civilised person isn't. We need to find a way that strikes the balance between genuine safeguarding and not hindering talent. The second part of that criteria is in danger of being not satisfied, at least in my view. I am happy for you to tell me, very calmly and quietly, as I have done with you, why you think my view is incorrect.