WIPPA: Very important day, actually, because the social media reform, as we've discussed, and you know that I'm part of 36 Months, which was a movement to campaign against changing the law that kids could join social media. And it was about becoming citizens of the social media platform. And that 36 Months represents the age which the law was at 13 and then obviously to 16 and that crucial time period. Due to the hospitalisation rates of teenagers suicide rates have gone up unfortunately we've had to step in and say hey I don't think social media is the best place for young brains at that moment in time so come December 10, the reform will take place and these laws will come into play. 

FITZY: We've already had a conversation with our 11-year-old, which is interesting because, you know what, he does. He wants to start a Snapchat account. He wants to do this. So, you know, it's great to get the ball rolling now, parents, to start saying to children, look, I understand what you would like, but in Australia we do have laws here and they kick in December unfortunately, you've got to wait until you're 16 before you can do it. And you know what? Lenny understands. He understands straight away. I'm fully aware.

WIPPA: It does take a bit of explaining, but I think there's a level of national pride that should exist as well with this because we're saying as a Commonwealth, we're saying to big tech that, hey, hey, we know what's best for our kids and we'll be the judge of that. So we're putting kids and we're putting families first over big tech. And as a nation, we're saying we're not going to put up with that. We've got a different idea about what the best interest is. The announcement today that has been made, and you'll see it in the paper this morning, is from Anika Wells, our Communications Minister and also for sport. But she has now included YouTube, which the government has decided should also exist under this reform. So the Honourable Anika Wells MP joins us now in Canberra. Hello, Anika.  

COMMUNICATIONS AND SPORTS MINISTER ANIKA WELLS: Good morning. Hope you're all well. 

WIPPA: We are well. This is obviously a big decision, Anika, to include YouTube. 

ANIKA WELLS: It is. YouTube will now be part of the social media ban and that makes Australia's social media laws world-leading and we should all be really proud of that, particularly groups like 36 Months with more than 130,000 parents who did a lot of hard work to get the government to a place where we can declare that today.

FITZY: So, Anika, a lot of families will be freaking out here going, my gosh, well if this comes into play, my kids won't be able to watch YouTube at all. But that's not the case, is it?

WELLS: No, it's not the case. And, you know, I had my parent’s friends asking me about this at a Triple J Hot 100 house party on the weekend. I understand people want to learn how this will affect their kids, but I think everybody agrees it's too important for us not to have a crack at it. You're exactly right. If kids need to look at YouTube because their teachers want them to look at number blocks or if you need to occupy your kids, YouTube Kids will still be available. There will still be ways for people to use social media responsibly as a family, but like you said, Wippa, it's up to you to make those decisions as a family.

WIPPA: Minister Wells, what's interesting I think with the reform, people feel like there's going to be some sort of black curtain that's going to be pulled across a lot of the social media platforms and therefore they won't exist until you wake up on your 16th birthday and that curtain is gone. So especially for YouTube in particular, and YouTube consider themselves to be a search engine because there is so much great content on there. So I think it's just important to spell out, as you have mentioned, that you can still use YouTube without logging in. You don't need an account and to share your details to still use YouTube. That's correct, isn't it?

WELLS: That's right. And also I think I'd want your listeners to know that we've got parents' backs, we are looking after parents. The onus is on the platforms here. Come 10th of December, it is up to the social media platforms to deactivate accounts for people under 16. It's up to platforms to not let under 16-year-olds open new accounts. It's up to the platforms to make sure that when kids work out workarounds, because God bless them, they will. We know that they will. It's up to the social media platforms to take reasonable steps to stop that from happening anymore. I think that is reasonable. They have a social responsibility in this country as a social media platform.

FITZY: So just to make sure for anyone listening out there, this is all it is, that kids from December 10 under the age of 16 won't be able to start up their own YouTube account. So like Anika is saying, if you do get a link from school that the kids need to watch on YouTube but you can still use it the way that you do but your child under the age of 16 won't be able to start a new YouTube account themselves.

WELLS: Yep, that's exactly right. You've nailed it. So the onus is on the platforms here to have social responsibility and to make sure that there aren't accounts for under 16-year-olds. Obviously, social media has a place, but persuasive and predatory algorithms do not, and that's what we're trying to stamp out here.

WIPPA: Do you know, Minister Wells, I think what's the important point is to also realise people calling this a social media ban. It's not a ban. We're just delaying it for 36 months and we're giving you that time back but, you know, you've got young kids as well and I think- I know we have an issue where 13-year-olds are going to go, oh my God, but I'm on Snapchat and all of this but we need to think beyond that as well and we need to think about the younger kids. I have a five-year-old and, the law change is the first thing and then the behaviour change is the next thing. So that's why I think today is such an important step forward.

WELLS: I think that's right. It's delaying access to social media. We want kids to learn and work out who they are before these social media platforms assume who they are. We're buying them 36 more months to build real-world connections and to build online resilience. I think that’s a really good thing. And it's about the chilling effect because we know, like smoking, there'll still be kids that want to smoke under 18 and they'll find a way to do it. But it's about the chilling effect. I just had this on the weekend. I've got four-year-old twins. I forgot to buckle in, to put one of the twins in into his car seat and I drove off and all three of them in the back seat started screaming like, “Mum, you have to put his seatbelt on! Mum, pull over!” They thought that the cops were going to appear out of nowhere and take us down. And, if they didn't want to wear their seatbelt, they know it's against the law and it has a chilling effect.

WIPPA: It’s never going to be perfect. Thank you so much for joining us with the important announcement today, Minister Wells.

WELLS: You’re welcome, have a great day.