‘Dawdling’: push to strengthen teen social media ban
Lucinda Garbutt-Young |
The communications minister will ramp up her campaign to push through a tougher social media ban for under-16s as political rivals call for even stronger measures.
Anika Wells will use the coming sitting week to encourage senators to vote for amendments to strengthen Labor’s existing under-16s social media ban.
While tech giants have introduced various age-verification measures to comply with the policy, they have been widely criticised as ineffective and easy for teens to skirt.
Under the proposed amendments, tech companies could be fined up to $109.2 million for breaching the laws, doubling the current maximum penalty of $54.6 million, which already went up slightly in July.
The changes would give eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant increased powers to investigate non-compliance after she complained of “thin scaffolding” and limited means of remedy for policy breaches.
More than five million Australian accounts had been removed or deactivated, but about 80 per cent of teenagers younger than 16 were still using social media after the December ban, according to research released in June.
Ms Wells slammed the “dawdling” of political counterparts on a strengthened ban, calling on them to help the eSafety Commissioner “hold social media companies accountable”.
The amendment, introduced in early July, was referred to an inquiry by the Greens and the coalition over concerns about its strength.
Committee members ultimately recommended the bill pass but raised concerns about the government’s approach.
Big tech would see the fine as a mere cost of doing business, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young told reporters on Sunday.
“You’ve got to hit them where it hurts and it’s not a ($100 million) fine.
“It is robust laws that hit their business model.”
Her comments followed warnings from Australia’s human rights commissioner that simply imposing harsher penalties would not fix weaknesses in the ban, given there had been no prosecutions to date under the current laws.
A broader suite of reforms under the government’s much-anticipated “digital duty of care” will also be debated.
They include an opt-in approach to social media algorithms and a ban on potentially harmful content for minors.
The Greens said they were awaiting the draft legislation before deciding their approach, but Senator Hanson-Young has proposed her own bill, calling for an algorithm opt-out to be the default setting.
The coalition has also yet to set out a position.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said parents should be able to control what their children viewed on social media, but he was sceptical about Labor’s proposed changes.
He accused Labor of butchering the already implemented under-16s social media ban – which the coalition supported – and said it should focus on fixing that policy.
AAP