SYDNEY, 21 NOVEMBER 2024 – As legislation is tabled in Parliament today to set a minimum age for social media use in Australia, UNICEF Australia welcomes the government's acknowledgement that this legislation will not be a silver bullet for solving all online harms.
“Regarding a social media ban, from the outset UNICEF Australia has stated that this would not be a solve-all for protecting young people from the wide range of online harms that exist,” said Katie Maskiell, Head of Policy and Advocacy at UNICEF Australia.
“In introducing the legislation into Parliament, we were encouraged to hear the government acknowledge that social media age restrictions are just one piece of this complex puzzle, and much more must be done to protect children and young people online.”
UNICEF has emphasised the risks of social media bans pushing children into increasingly covert and unregulated online spaces as well as preventing them from accessing aspects of the online world essential to their wellbeing.
“Holding tech companies to account, along with broader online safety and privacy reforms are needed to protect children online and balance their rights to safety, participation and inclusion. In introducing the legislation the government committed to introducing a ‘Duty of Care’ under the Online Safety Act, a Children’s Online Privacy Code, and enhanced powers for the eSafety Commissioner – and this must be actioned.”
Earlier this week the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society's final report demonstrated the complexity of this issue, and the importance of prioritising privacy reforms and embedding safety-by-design principles into all social media platforms.
“UNICEF Australia is committed to ensuring that children can actively participate in a safe and inclusive digital environment and supports striking a balance between protecting young people from harm and enabling their participation and inclusion in the digital world,” says Ms Maskiell.