Key Takeaways:
- The Australian government has implemented a social media ban for people under 16 years old, but experts believe it may not be effective in keeping young people off social media.
- The ban only applies to 10 specific social media platforms, and young people are already finding alternative platforms to use.
- Experts say that the ban does not address the root causes of online safety and that a digital duty of care is needed to ensure that tech companies take responsibility for keeping their platforms safe.
- The government has committed to legislating a digital duty of care, but experts believe it is a more pressing issue than the under-16s social media ban.
- The eSafety Commission is monitoring the situation and has the power to impose penalties of up to $49.5 million on platforms that do not comply with the ban.
Introduction to the Social Media Ban
The Australian government’s social media ban for people under 16 years old has come into effect, but experts are warning that it may not be effective in keeping young people off social media. The ban, which was introduced as an amendment to the Online Safety Act, requires social media companies to prevent under-16s from having accounts on their platforms. However, experts say that the ban is too broad and that young people are already finding ways to circumvent it by using alternative platforms.
The Rise of Alternative Platforms
According to experts, young people are shopping around for alternative social media platforms to use, and some platforms are rising in popularity as a result. For example, social media apps such as Lemon8 and Yope, which are owned by TikTok’s owners ByteDance, have seen an increase in downloads since the ban came into effect. Other short-form video content apps, such as Coverstar and ReelShort, are also gaining popularity. This trend suggests that the ban may not be effective in keeping young people off social media, and that they are simply finding new ways to access the online platforms they want to use.
The Limitations of the Ban
Experts say that the ban has several limitations that make it ineffective. For one, it only applies to 10 specific social media platforms, and young people are already finding alternative platforms to use. Additionally, the ban does not address the root causes of online safety, such as the spread of harmful content and the targeting of young people by advertisers. Professor Daniel Angus, director of the Queensland University of Technology’s Digital Media Research Centre, says that the ban is a "signalling policy failure" because it does not impose any requirements on platforms to clean up their activities or address the cultural issues that contribute to online harm.
The Need for a Digital Duty of Care
Experts say that a digital duty of care is needed to ensure that tech companies take responsibility for keeping their platforms safe. This would require companies to limit access to harmful content, constrain their algorithms, and deal with issues such as advertising and targeting. Professor Lisa Given, a professor of information sciences at RMIT University, says that a digital duty of care would create environments that are safer for all ages. The government has committed to legislating a digital duty of care, but experts believe it is a more pressing issue than the under-16s social media ban.
The Role of the eSafety Commission
The eSafety Commission is responsible for monitoring the situation and ensuring that social media platforms comply with the ban. The commission has the power to impose penalties of up to $49.5 million on platforms that do not comply, and it has provided platforms with regulatory guidance. However, experts say that the commission will have to continually update its list of platforms covered by the law and assess new platforms as they emerge. This will be a challenging task, as new platforms are constantly emerging and young people are finding new ways to access them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the social media ban for people under 16 years old may not be effective in keeping young people off social media. The ban has several limitations, including its narrow scope and failure to address the root causes of online safety. Experts say that a digital duty of care is needed to ensure that tech companies take responsibility for keeping their platforms safe. The government has committed to legislating a digital duty of care, but it remains to be seen whether this will be effective in keeping young people safe online. In the meantime, the eSafety Commission will have to continually monitor the situation and update its list of platforms covered by the law to ensure that social media companies comply with the ban.
