Sex Education Content Exempt From Australia’s New Under-18 Search Engine Rules

‘That kind of content is not captured by these codes. It’s very clearly not ’class two‘ material within the definition of the Online Safety Act,’ said DIGI.

A teenage child looks at a screen of age-restricted content on a laptop screen in London, England, on Jan. 17, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

New search engine rules aimed at protecting under-18s from harmful content online will not cover sex education content.

The Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI), a peak industry body for tech giants, told a parliamentary inquiry that the impending online code would not capture information deemed useful or educational.