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

Sky News AU

15-07-2025

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.'