logo
Labor refuses to reveal whether TikTok lobbyists pushed for YouTube ban at secret ‘introductory meeting'

Labor refuses to reveal whether TikTok lobbyists pushed for YouTube ban at secret ‘introductory meeting'

Sky News AU15-07-2025
Communications Minister Anika Wells has refused to reveal which TikTok-aligned lobbyists met her staff at a secret introductory meeting and whether they pressured Labor to ban YouTube for kids.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has refused to reveal which TikTok-aligned lobbyists met her staff at a secret introductory meeting and whether they pressured Labor to ban YouTube for kids.
SkyNews.com.au can reveal that the office of Minister Wells had an 'introductory' meeting with TikTok representatives after the Minister took over from Michelle Rowland in May, who now serves as Attorney-General.
After the meeting took place, reports emerged that Minister Wells would ban YouTube for kids, a key TikTok demand.
Chinese-owned and controlled company TikTok poses 'unique national security risks' to Australia, according to the 2023 Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media.
But even though the app was banned from government devices, Minister Wells' office took the meeting, arguing TikTok was a key 'stakeholder' in the social media ban legislation.
SkyNews.com.au asked Minister Wells to reveal which lobbyists met her staff on behalf of the Chinese owned company, and what was discussed.
Minister Wells' office declined to share that information. Sky News understands that the minister was not present at the meeting.
Sources within Google suggested TikTok had aggressively lobbied Labor to target video streaming platform YouTube, arguing the exemption was unfair.
TikTok has also publicly called for YouTube to be regulated in press releases to journalists and in formal submissions to the Labor government.
The Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media warned TikTok was a threat to Australia's democratic process, adding the company was evasive when asked if it was headquartered in China.
'The committee was particularly concerned with the unique national security risks posed by social media companies like TikTok and WeChat, whose parent companies ByteDance and Tencent respectively, are irrefutably headquartered in and run from authoritarian countries like China,' the report found.
The Chinese social media platform has hired Labor-aligned lobby group Anacta Strategies to lobby on its behalf.
Anacta has extensive links to the Labor Party, including former state secretary Evan Moorhead and at least one former staffer from Ms Wells' office.
The firm did not respond to questions about whether it had lobbied Minister Wells.
In a formal submission to the Albanese government on the social media ban, TikTok argued an exemption for YouTube was 'anti-competitive' and would disadvantage the Chinese-owned app.
Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh called on Labor to be upfront about whether YouTube would be banned.
"The government must make its position clear on all platforms immediately," she told Sky News.
"The uncertainty is causing confusion on a mechanism that is about protecting our kids from online harms.
"There are still more questions than answers right now about how age will be verified, what platforms are in or out, and what reasonable steps need to be taken by 10 December 2025." — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 4, 2025
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously backed the original YouTube exemption, describing it as a vital platform for 'education and health support'.
But his government's position appears to have shifted following pressure from TikTok and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
TikTok did not respond to questions about its lobbying activities in Australia.
The platform, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, was banned on federal government phones after the Home Affairs department said it posed 'data security and foreign interference risks'.
Under the framework of the Social Media (Age Restrictions) Act, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook will be banned for users under 16 from December 2025.
Ms Julie Inman Grant joined TikTok in calls for YouTube to be included in the ban but initially refused to publicly release the full research behind her advice.
Ms Wells also declined to release the research, despite demands for transparency from the federal opposition.
The documents were eventually published after SkyNews.com.au lodged a freedom of information request.
The commission's 'Keeping Kids Safe Online: Methodology' report revealed the data 'may be subject to a range of biases' and relied on children's responses.
Meanwhile, industry stakeholders including children's educational content creators have said they have struggled to gain access to Ms Wells, despite her consulting TikTok.
Creator of the globally popular children's YouTube channel Bounce Patrol, Shannon Jones, recently told Sky News she was ignored by the minister's office.
"I reached out to them last year when they were first considering it and had some conversations then,' she said.
'And then this time around I've sent communications to the minister but haven't heard back.
'Everything is just being done so fast, like it's all being considered and decided in the space of a week it feels like.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘We will not allow that to be diminished': Labor removes ban on US beef imports
‘We will not allow that to be diminished': Labor removes ban on US beef imports

Sky News AU

time3 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

‘We will not allow that to be diminished': Labor removes ban on US beef imports

National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke discusses Labor's removal of a ban on US beef imports. 'Australian biosecurity rules are put into place to not only protect our production, our farmers, but also our consumers,' Mr Jochinke told Sky News host Steve Price. 'We will not allow that to be diminished. 'We have called … to have an inquiry to ensure that these standards are rigorous enough.'

Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre
Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre

Sydney Morning Herald

time4 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre

It's a sweltering morning in the top end of Australia, where thousands of military personnel have swarmed Darwin's coastline for the nation's largest war games. Members of the US Coast Guard bring reporters through Darwin's turquoise waters off Larrakeyah Barracks on a fast ride through the security zone. There's chatter about the clear differences between how Australia and the US protect their coasts. Military vessels circle the water, a heavy presence as ordinary boaties cruise through. Further along the coast, a group of soldiers has set up to practise firing. There, they wait for civilian watercraft to pass through, the boaties seemingly unperturbed by the military. For many Darwin residents, the huge influx of armed forces to the region is not a surprise. And many of the troops have been here before. But some say this year's Talisman Sabre, the 11th iteration of the training exercise comprising mainly Australian Defence Personnel and members of the US military, is different. There's a bigger focus on 'the enemy'. Questions swirl in the political bubble about potential threats to Australia. Talisman Sabre kicked off as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Albanese has vowed not to back down on security measures, such as taking back control of the Port of Darwin, controversially leased by Chinese firm Landbridge. Uneasiness hangs in the air in Darwin as journalists ask defence commanders questions regarding China surveilling the war games. The Chinese have routinely monitored military training from afar in recent years. Royal Australian Air Force Commander Louise DesJardins tells a media pack that while the ADF keeps an eye on maritime approaches, 'at the moment we're not happy to discuss the surveillance'. The ADF consistently pushes the message that the war games are not, in fact, targeted at any particular country, and are more for maintaining peace. US Brigadier-General Shannon Smith, serving with one of Australia's steadfast allies, points to the massive scope of the region and what he says are the complexities of international relationships. 'I've seen nothing but a consistent messaging from our administration and our national defence strategy that we're committed to a rule-based order across the globe,' he says. But reporters ask the troops if they feel prepared for war. Many say they are. They acknowledge what they've learned in previous exercises, sometimes serving on 'attack' teams, other times in defence. This stifling day in Darwin, Mark Hazlett, a captain in the Australian Army's reserve 31st/42nd Battalion of the Royal Queensland Regiment, is serving in the 'enemy' team. For this exercise, both the attack and defence teams are operating in a fictitious country, 'Belesia'. Strategies employed are 'open source, obviously derived from our knowledge of the operation procedures and tactics from world actors', Hazlett says. His personnel are tasked with testing the contingencies of the defence team, who represent Australia and its allies. 'That includes having a look at the vulnerabilities, and trying to exploit those as enemy combatants,' he says. Soldiers get to practise detention, handling skills, vehicle checkpoints, and other tactics with personnel from the US, Britain and Canada. For the first time, the exercises have stretched to Papua New Guinea and Christmas Island. Back home, Hazlett is a sergeant with the Queensland Police Service based outside Cairns. He's been with the QPS for more than a decade. Many of the things he's done with the army reserves, however, are difficult to explain to the civilian world – like how to stop his hands trembling when he puts a detonator into a claymore mine. 'It's a nerve-racking thing as it is. You've always got that feeling you've got to ground yourself ... that's why you hold it like a cigarette,' he says. 'But being able to then roll that back and set it off, is an incredible experience ... you're training to be a real soldier. You are a real soldier.' Taine Waerea, a private who recently joined from Queensland, says he always wanted to wear the greens. Loading After months in uniform, he remembers setting up his first claymore. 'I'm an electrician ... I don't get to be trained in such weapons systems I get to be trained in here. I don't get to blow things up,' he laughs. As members of the 31st/42nd Battalion sit near the water for a brief break, Lance Corporal Selby Anderson and his sister Private Brooke Anderson, both train drivers in Queensland, reflect on their careers. For them, military service is personal – their grandfather served in the Royal Australian Navy in Vietnam aboard multiple ships. The pair talk of army helicopters and vehicles, but also giving back to the community. All those who spoke to this masthead are confident when they say Australia is prepared for any war. 'I'll leave the politics to the politicians,' Hazlett says. 'We get a set of orders, and we plan to those orders. For this, we plan to the tactics that we know. We train and we continue to train. 'We will hopefully continue to operate in peace time.'

Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre
Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre

The Age

time4 hours ago

  • The Age

Inside Australia's biggest war games, Exercise Talisman Sabre

It's a sweltering morning in the top end of Australia, where thousands of military personnel have swarmed Darwin's coastline for the nation's largest war games. Members of the US Coast Guard bring reporters through Darwin's turquoise waters off Larrakeyah Barracks on a fast ride through the security zone. There's chatter about the clear differences between how Australia and the US protect their coasts. Military vessels circle the water, a heavy presence as ordinary boaties cruise through. Further along the coast, a group of soldiers has set up to practise firing. There, they wait for civilian watercraft to pass through, the boaties seemingly unperturbed by the military. For many Darwin residents, the huge influx of armed forces to the region is not a surprise. And many of the troops have been here before. But some say this year's Talisman Sabre, the 11th iteration of the training exercise comprising mainly Australian Defence Personnel and members of the US military, is different. There's a bigger focus on 'the enemy'. Questions swirl in the political bubble about potential threats to Australia. Talisman Sabre kicked off as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Albanese has vowed not to back down on security measures, such as taking back control of the Port of Darwin, controversially leased by Chinese firm Landbridge. Uneasiness hangs in the air in Darwin as journalists ask defence commanders questions regarding China surveilling the war games. The Chinese have routinely monitored military training from afar in recent years. Royal Australian Air Force Commander Louise DesJardins tells a media pack that while the ADF keeps an eye on maritime approaches, 'at the moment we're not happy to discuss the surveillance'. The ADF consistently pushes the message that the war games are not, in fact, targeted at any particular country, and are more for maintaining peace. US Brigadier-General Shannon Smith, serving with one of Australia's steadfast allies, points to the massive scope of the region and what he says are the complexities of international relationships. 'I've seen nothing but a consistent messaging from our administration and our national defence strategy that we're committed to a rule-based order across the globe,' he says. But reporters ask the troops if they feel prepared for war. Many say they are. They acknowledge what they've learned in previous exercises, sometimes serving on 'attack' teams, other times in defence. This stifling day in Darwin, Mark Hazlett, a captain in the Australian Army's reserve 31st/42nd Battalion of the Royal Queensland Regiment, is serving in the 'enemy' team. For this exercise, both the attack and defence teams are operating in a fictitious country, 'Belesia'. Strategies employed are 'open source, obviously derived from our knowledge of the operation procedures and tactics from world actors', Hazlett says. His personnel are tasked with testing the contingencies of the defence team, who represent Australia and its allies. 'That includes having a look at the vulnerabilities, and trying to exploit those as enemy combatants,' he says. Soldiers get to practise detention, handling skills, vehicle checkpoints, and other tactics with personnel from the US, Britain and Canada. For the first time, the exercises have stretched to Papua New Guinea and Christmas Island. Back home, Hazlett is a sergeant with the Queensland Police Service based outside Cairns. He's been with the QPS for more than a decade. Many of the things he's done with the army reserves, however, are difficult to explain to the civilian world – like how to stop his hands trembling when he puts a detonator into a claymore mine. 'It's a nerve-racking thing as it is. You've always got that feeling you've got to ground yourself ... that's why you hold it like a cigarette,' he says. 'But being able to then roll that back and set it off, is an incredible experience ... you're training to be a real soldier. You are a real soldier.' Taine Waerea, a private who recently joined from Queensland, says he always wanted to wear the greens. Loading After months in uniform, he remembers setting up his first claymore. 'I'm an electrician ... I don't get to be trained in such weapons systems I get to be trained in here. I don't get to blow things up,' he laughs. As members of the 31st/42nd Battalion sit near the water for a brief break, Lance Corporal Selby Anderson and his sister Private Brooke Anderson, both train drivers in Queensland, reflect on their careers. For them, military service is personal – their grandfather served in the Royal Australian Navy in Vietnam aboard multiple ships. The pair talk of army helicopters and vehicles, but also giving back to the community. All those who spoke to this masthead are confident when they say Australia is prepared for any war. 'I'll leave the politics to the politicians,' Hazlett says. 'We get a set of orders, and we plan to those orders. For this, we plan to the tactics that we know. We train and we continue to train. 'We will hopefully continue to operate in peace time.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store