eSafety welcomes the introduction to Parliament of the Australian Government’s Social Media Minimum Age Bill setting a minimum age of 16 for access to certain age-restricted social media platforms.
As we have stated previously, a Commonwealth-led strategy is needed to ensure national coordination and consistency.
While the final contents and passage of the legislation remains a matter for Parliament, should it become law, eSafety looks forward to working closely with government, industry and the Australian community to ensure its effective implementation.
eSafety has long stated that while age assurance is an important step, it is one part of a holistic approach to protect children and young people from harm online.
We must also continue working to ensure online services are safe by design, and to build children’s digital literacy, resilience and critical reasoning skills so that when they are of age to use these services, or use services not captured by restrictions, they are equipped for the online world.
Prevention and education has always been a foundational pillar of eSafety’s work and we will continue our work to support parents, carers and schools.
We will also continue to use our world-leading regulatory powers under the Act to compel greater transparency and encourage meaningful accountability from the tech industry, particularly when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
In July, eSafety notified key members of the online industry that they had six months to come up with enforceable codes that will protect children from pornography and other high-impact content including themes of suicide and serious illness.
Draft codes developed by industry are currently out for public consultation, closing this week, and industry associations have been asked to submit final drafts to eSafety before the end of the year.
The Commissioner will then consider whether the codes provide appropriate community safeguards and can be registered.
For more information on eSafety’s resources, programs, complaint schemes and systemic powers, visit www.esafety.gov.au.