The Australian federal government yesterday announced plans to ban under-16s from social media platforms. The ban will cover Australian children and teenagers under the age of 16, even if they already have a social media account. The ban is not likely to be in place for at least a year.
Monash University experts are available to talk about what this ban means and what questions need to be answered.
Available to comment:
Dr Mugdha Rai, Director, Master of Strategic Communications Management, Senior Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University
Contact: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
The following can be attributed to Dr Rai:
“There is clearly a growing frustration in Australia regarding the increasing intrusion of social media platforms in our children’s lives. Concerns have been raised across the spectrum by parents, educators and mental health experts for a number of years.
“This planned ban for under-16s attempts to address these concerns. With this legislation, the government proposes to hold these corporations accountable and put the onus on them to keep our children off their platforms.
“The premise of this legislation therefore is well-intentioned and likely to be widely popular. The devil, of course, is in the detail. Regulating digital and social media has been notoriously difficult and, at this stage, the legislation raises a number of questions that will need answering.
“The legislation requires social media companies to take ‘reasonable steps’ to block people under 16. What would these ‘reasonable steps’ look like? How exactly will age be verified? By the platforms themselves? By a third-party? Privacy concerns will clearly need to be addressed in either case. So far the government has indicated an awareness of these concerns and a timeline to work through them.”
Dr Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer, School of Education Culture and Society, Faculty of Education
Contact: 0430 014 966 or Stephanie.Wescott@monash.edu
Read more for Dr Wescott’s commentary at Monash Lens
The following can be attributed to Dr Wescott:
“The research tells us age restrictions on social media don't work in practice, with the technology also often failing. There are also important social and support benefits to social media for young people that make addressing the content more desirable than blocking young people completely from the platforms. Social media is an important space for lots of young people, especially for minority young people who benefit from social support from peers and who use social media to support their identity formation.
“The influence of misogynist and sexist rhetoric online from commentators like Andrew Tate is a key driver behind the calls for these types of bans, and the discourse goes beyond the digital sphere, so we also need to address these concerning socio-political discourses and ensure our young people are equipped to be democratic participants and responsible consumers of media later in life. It would be far more productive to focus on critical media and digital literacies, to support young people's skills in critically consuming information they receive online.”
For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, contact the Monash University Media Unit on +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
