Google warns Australia age rules could exclude under-18s from Gmail

By Rebecca Stone

Internet companies serving Australia could face fines of up to A$109 million ($75.1 million) if they fail to show they are taking steps to remove harmful content under the government's proposed Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026.

Google told an Australian Senate hearing on Monday that an age-check requirement for services where a child might see pornography could force the company to block users under 18 from Gmail and private file storage, Reuters reported.

What could age assurance mean for private services?

Rachel Lord, who leads policy for Google's YouTube in Australia and New Zealand, said the requirement could extend beyond content platforms. She said the section “could require us to age assure and block access to everyday communication services like messaging, email and private file storage.”

Lord also warned of “potentially intrusive monitoring within private communications or file storage.” That language puts age assurance and private communication tools—not only public social networks—inside the bill's scope.

What obligations would the bill impose?

The scope is broader still.

The bill covers social media, hosting services, search engines, app stores and AI content-generation tools. Internet companies would have to show they are taking steps to remove harmful content or face the proposed maximum fine.

The operating requirements are specific:

• Platforms would identify and manage foreseeable harms, including harm arising from platform design, recommender systems and AI.
• The bill adds mandatory risk assessments, transparency duties and age-assurance requirements.
• Platforms would protect under-18s from content promoting eating disorders or crime, pornography and misogynistic material.

Google's evidence therefore raised a scope question for the bill: whether age assurance belongs only around harmful content or also around access to everyday services such as messaging, email and private file storage.

Could broad discretion drive over-moderation?

Representatives from Meta, TikTok and Snap made a different argument. They said the bill gives regulators broad discretion over what counts as harmful and could push platforms to over-moderate to avoid penalties.

The government says a broad set of rules is the only way to make the internet safe.

For platforms, compliance would extend from removal decisions to the design of age checks, recommendation systems and other controls named in the bill.

What are the legislative hurdles and timetable?

Communications Minister Anika Wells introduced the bill in October. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it the next phase after Australia's ban on under-16s using social media, which took effect last December.

Reuters said the bill has passed the House of Representatives. The Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee is due to report by Nov. 20. Final Senate passage remains outstanding.

Labor needs Greens and crossbench votes because the Coalition opposes the bill. The government wants Parliament to pass it before the end of the year. After a 12-month transition, the duty would take effect in late 2027 and replace parts of the existing online safety framework.

How does the California dispute compare?

Google, Meta and TikTok are also fighting age-based rules in the US. Last week, they sued to block California's ban on personalized feeds and autoplay for under-16s.

That parallel litigation puts the same companies in two contests over minors' online experience. In California, they challenge product-specific limits on personalized feeds and autoplay; in Australia, they face a broad duty to identify and manage foreseeable harms across social media, hosting, search, app stores and AI content generation.

What happens next?

If Parliament clears the bill before year-end and the duty starts in late 2027, the next test for Google and its peers is whether age checks can meet divergent US and Australian rules without locking minors out of email, messaging and private file storage.