Peak Tech body calls for more consultation on age ban legislation
Unsurprisingly, the Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI) is wary of the Labor government’s plan to ban children under 16 from social media.
The head of an Australian body representing social media companies such as Meta, TikTok and Snapchat has again expressed concern over the federal government’s proposed age-based ban on social media, calling for a period longer consultation on the legislation.
The legislation is released today, with only a 24-hour period during which individuals and organizations can submit comments on the new laws.
The government plans to enact the legislation, with the support of the National Liberal Party, during the final sitting week of Parliament, despite concerns expressed by politicians, academics, human rights organizations, the Commissioner for Electronic Safety and the Commissioner for Children.
“More than 100 experts from Australia’s Children’s Rights Taskforce opposed the ban in a letter to Prime Minister Albanese, fearing it risks isolating young people, preventing them from accessing a mental health support and building social connections,” Sunita Bose, Executive Director of DIGI. said in a Nov. 21 statement.
“Neither experts nor the community have been consulted on the details of the legislation released today, and we need to hear from them before it becomes law.
“Mainstream digital platforms have strict measures in place to keep young people safe, and a ban could push young people into darker, less safe online spaces lacking safety guardrails.
“An abrupt ban does not encourage companies to continually improve safety because the focus is on keeping teens out of the service rather than keeping them safe while they are there.”
Bose also warned of the ban’s impact on all Australians, regardless of age.
“If this proposal uses the Australian legal definition of ‘social media’, it extends to a massive number of websites with interaction between ‘two or more end users’, including community forums, business forums or anything that allows for comments,” Bose said.
“For a range of websites to verifiably know whether someone is 14 or 40, young people and adults will need to take regular steps, such as providing sensitive personal identity documents, biometric facial scans or a link to myGovID.
“We have not seen this implemented anywhere else in the world and we do not yet know the unintended consequences for safety and mental health, nor the implications for privacy and data security – a public consultation by through a parliamentary commission would be a first step in finding out. .”
