Google Says Australia's Online Safety Bill Could Force It to Block Under-18s From Gmail

The Digital Duty of Care legislation would require internet companies to show they are taking steps to remove harmful content, with fines of up to A$109 million ($75.1 million) for those that fall short. The bill has passed the House of Representatives but needs cross-party support to get through the Senate.

Google's concern centres on a section requiring age checks wherever there is a risk that a child could see pornography. That provision "could require us to age assure and block access to everyday communication services like messaging, email and private file storage," said Rachel Lord, head of policy in Australia and New Zealand for YouTube. "We are talking about potentially intrusive monitoring within private communications or file storage," she added.

The warning matters beyond Australia because it extends the age-verification debate from social media feeds into core services such as email and cloud storage. Australia has become a test case for online safety rules: its ban on social media accounts for under-16s is already in force, and other governments are watching how far such obligations can reach.

Representatives of Meta, TikTok and Snap raised similar concerns at the hearing. They argued that the bill would give regulators wide latitude to decide what content or conduct counts as harmful, while replacing some existing mandatory industry codes. Several said the resulting uncertainty would push platforms to over-moderate in order to avoid large penalties, which could chill online communication. Free speech advocates have raised the same objection.

The government has said a broad set of rules is the only way to ensure a safe internet. The Senate hearing is continuing, and the bill's fate rests on whether the government can assemble enough support in the upper house.