Social media ban 'hard to enforce, won't protect kids'

A looming ban on under-16s using social media will not keep young people safe online, one tech giant has warned.

YouTube representatives told a Senate inquiry that moves to include the video-sharing platform in the world-leading legislation would deny access to services on the site that were aimed at protecting children.

The platform’s Australian senior manager Rachel Lord said the ban, set to come into effect in December, was not the solution for online safety.

“The government’s plan to ban social media use for under-16s may be well-intentioned, but in practice it risks unintended consequences,” she told the inquiry on Monday.

“The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online.”

YouTube was initially grant