SYDNEY, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Alphabet-owned Google

on Monday said it would be "extremely difficult" for

Australia to enforce a law prohibiting people younger than 16

from using social media, warning that the government's

initiative would not make children safer online.

Governments and tech firms around the world are closely

watching Australia, which in December will become the first

country to block the use of social media by people younger than

16.

Social media platforms will not be required to conduct age

verification procedures; instead, they will be asked to use

artificial intelligence and behavioural data to reliably infer

age.

In a parliamentary hearing on online safety rules on Monday,

YouTube's senior manager of government affairs in Australia,

Rachel Lord, said the government's programme was

well-intentioned, but it could have "unintended consequences."

"The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to

enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids

safer online," Lord said.

When asked if Google was lobbying officials in Washington to

raise the issue when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington next week,

Google Australia's government affairs director Stef Lovett said

her U.S. colleagues were aware of the issues that the company

faces in Australia.

In July, Australia added YouTube to a list of sites covered

by the legislation - reversing an earlier decision to exempt it

due to its popularity with teachers - following complaints from

other tech firms. Google contends that YouTube is a

video-sharing site, not a social media platform.

"Well-crafted legislation can be an effective tool to build

on industry efforts to keep children safer online," Lord said.

"But the solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping

them from being online."

Instead, she said, online safety tools must be used to

protect children and parents should be given the controls to

guide their online experiences.

Australia, concerned about the impact of social media on the

mental health of young people, passed its Online Safety

Amendment in November 2024. It gave companies a year to comply

and they face a Dec. 10 deadline to deactivate the accounts of

underage users.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Thomas

Derpinghaus.)