By Tahlia Perry
Can we please take a minute to pause, quieten the white noise and celebrate an amazing win for Australian parents, children and young people?
Last night, the Federal Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024. This means that in 12 months’ time my child and young people across Australia will have one barrier in place to keep them safer online.
Is this Bill a silver bullet? No, but it never claimed to be.
Will this Bill remove all inappropriate online content or completely stop children and young people from accessing pornography sites? No, but this was not its intention. There are other initiatives underway to address this.
There are many other things this legislation will not do. But I want to take the time to celebrate what it will do.
The legislation will protect my privacy and the privacy of my child.
A provider of an age-restricted social media platform must not collect government-issued identification material or a digital ID. This is clearly stated in the legislation and there will be penalties for non-compliance.
The legislation will not punish me.
The responsibility for keeping children safe on social media platforms lies with the social media companies, as it should. It is these Big Tech platforms which have wreaked havoc on our children’s safety and wellbeing, introducing them to predators, groomers, porn and content which destroys their mental health.
The legislation will protect my child from being exposed to pornography on Social Media platforms.
We know that 60% of young people who encounter online pornography have done so via social media. In addition, X is the platform where the highest percentage of children have seen pornography. The legislation will reduce the predatory porn industry's capacity to reach and groom younger teens and children and expose them to harmful, degrading and illegal content which is damaging them.
The legislation will protect my child through their most formative years.
Adolescence is a time of critical development, and social media introduces or increases risks of harm from cyberbullying, sextortion, predatory behaviours, misogyny and concentration difficulties.
Young girls experience a negative link between social media use and life satisfaction when they are 11 to 13 years-old and young boys when they are 14 to 15 years old.
Almost two-thirds of 14- to 17-year-olds report encountering harmful content, including drug abuse, suicide and self-harm, as well as violent material, and a quarter have been exposed to material that promotes unsafe eating habit on social media.
The risk of predation for young people on social media is a significant concern. Four in 10 Australian teens reported having at least one negative online experience in a 6 month period, with three in 10 having experienced unwanted contact from a stranger. Two in 10 teens reported being sent unwanted inappropriate content, such as pornography or violent content.
When Australian teenagers are asked why they believe mental health problems have worsened, their top answer is “social media”. As Dr Danielle Einstein has highlighted, “depression and anxiety invariably improve when social media use is restricted.”
The legislation will create one barrier that may save my child’s life.
Self-harm and suicide rates have raised drastically since 2007. We have heard the grieving voices of those who have lost their children to suicide because of social media bullying or exploitation. This bill took away social media’s ability to act as a vehicle for behaviour that could have life-threatening implications.
The legislation will support teachers in their fight against the number one issue in schools.
Teachers in Collective Shout’s SHoT report cited social media as the number one issue contributing to sexualised behaviours in Year 7. Other teachers made comments, such as: “my anecdotal observations suggest social media is playing a huge role in corroding the quality of interactions and systematically undermining the attention of our young people.”
As a teacher, I had to deal with the fall out of bullying on social media platforms, and instances of and investigations into minors sharing child exploitation material. This took valuable time away from lesson planning and preparation. This Bill has won back valuable time and resources for schools.
The legislation gives us time.
The legislation allows time for a comprehensive Age Assurance Technology Trial to be completed, reported on and debated in parliament.
The legislation will be reviewed.
Within two years after the Bill takes effect, an independent review will be undertaken. This provides time for consultation and further debate and discussion when we can actually see what age-restricted social media platforms have done to comply.
Tahlia Perry is a mother and has long been an advocate for the protection of children. She has taught in high schools in Australia and the UK. Tahlia consults with a range of child protection organisations, including Collective Shout.
See also
Social Media Age of Access. Facts.
Age Matters: The Case for Raising the Social Media Age Limit
Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society: Our Submission
Hold social media platforms to account: MTR addresses Fed inquiry
It’s out of control…it’s insidious…it’s not okay!” Teacher sexual harassment in schools report
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