Who Is Julie Inman Grant? eSafety Boss Who Thinks YouTube Should Be Banned, Plus What She Thinks Of Elon Musk

Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Inman Grant, is the country's top official responsible for protecting people, especially young people, from online harm. Grant is known for introducing strong policies related to social media in Australia; however, she has recently made headlines for her opinion on some of the biggest tech giants in Silicon Valley.

Last week, she advised the federal government to include YouTube in its proposed ban on social media for under-16s, warning that the platform is exposing children to disturbing and harmful content.

As the Australian government prepares to finalise its new rules, Inman Grant's strong stance is drawing support and criticism. However, at the same time, her broader campaign for more rigid online safety rules has brought her into conflict with high-profile tech leaders, most notably Elon Musk.

So, who exactly is Inman Grant, and how did she become one of the most influential figures in the global fight for online safety?

Grant is An Unlikely Tech Crusader

An American by birth, Julie Inman Grant started her career in the US Congress as a legislative aide. In the early '90s, she was tapped to work on policy issues for a then-small company called Microsoft. Not long after, she joined the tech giant just as Windows 95 was hitting shelves.

Over 17 years at Microsoft, Inman Grant rose through the ranks, ultimately overseeing global safety, security, and privacy initiatives. She later took on policy roles at Adobe and Twitter, where she saw firsthand how online platforms can be used for abuse and harassment.

After moving to Australia in the early 2000s, she became a key figure in bridging the gap between tech companies and government regulators. By 2017, she was appointed eSafety Commissioner, the first role of its kind globally.

Why She Wants YouTube Banned for Kids

Inman Grant made headlines recently for advising Anthony Albanese's government that YouTube should no longer be exempt from the proposed under-16s social media ban. Her argument? Despite its educational value, YouTube exposes children to alarming levels of harmful content.

Inman Grant's strong views about the platform come after a national survey of 2,600 children aged 10 to 15 found that 40 per cent had seen damaging material on YouTube, including content promoting eating disorders, violent fights, and misogynistic messages.

'The New York Times reported earlier this month that YouTube surreptitiously rolled back its content moderation processes to keep more harmful content on its platform, even when the content violates the company's own policies,' Inman Grant said on Tuesday while addressing the National Press Club.

In response to her recommendation, YouTube Australia public policy and government relations senior manager Rachel Lord urged the government to 'follow through on the public commitment it made to ensure young Australians can continue to access enriching content on YouTube.'

Meanwhile, the proposal puts pressure on the new Communications Minister Anika Wells, who, according to reports, will decide on the issue in the coming weeks amid industry pushback.

Inman Grant Thinks Musk is An Unelected Bureaucrat

This is not the first time Inman Grant has faced tech giants for her regulation. Last year, she launched legal action against Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) after the platform refused to globally remove graphic footage of a stabbing at a Sydney church.

While the video was eventually geoblocked in Australia, X resisted wider removal, prompting Inman Grant to seek a court injunction. The case was later dropped when the court ruled global enforcement was unreasonable.

But the legal fight sparked something far more personal. Shortly after Musk publicly ridiculed her as the 'censorship commissar,' Inman Grant says she was hit with a wave of abuse, her children were doxxed, threats poured in, and police urged her to reconsider travelling overseas. A report from Columbia University revealed she had been mentioned in nearly 74,000 posts on X, most of them hostile.

She later described Musk's actions as a 'dog whistle' that unleashed targeted harassment. In February, during a tech industry event at Australian parliament, Inman Grant called Musk an 'unelected bureaucrat' as she mentioned another alarming video which allegedly motivated a stabbing incident in the UK.

As policymakers debate her latest advice, Google, YouTube's parent company, is yet to respond officially to Inman Grant's recommendation.