United Australia party senator says checks would have been another layer of digital surveillance. Follow today’s news live

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Liberal frontbencher Paul Scarr says the decision to reverse YouTube’s exemption could amount to a “broken promise”, but won’t say whether or not including it in the ban is the right decision.

Over on Sunrise, Scarr and Greens leader Larissa Waters have also been reacting to the news overnight.

There is a lot of harmful content out there. But the fact of the matter is the legislation, when it was first passed by the parliament, specifically excluded YouTube, and now the government appears ready to change their position in that respect. And that’s a broken promise.

Kids are so tech savvy, they’re going to find a way around these bans. These bans are not going to work. So what we actually need to do is to make those platforms safer and safer, not just for kids, but for anyone who’s accessing them. And I think that’s where the responsibility should be on the big tech companies. They’re getting off scot-free right now.

They [the government] were silent on the possibility that it would be brought in… and so let’s wait and see what they table. The eSafety Commissioner’s advice needs to be scrutinised.

I make the point they failed to tell the Australian people about this before the election.

Source: Guardian - World News