A parliamentary committee examining the impact of social media on Australian society recommended giving users the power to alter, reset or disable algorithms, as well as greater privacy protections, but stopped short of recommending a ban on social media. minors under 16 years of age. access social networks.
The wide-ranging investigation, which predominantly focused on the impact of social media on young people, came as both the Coalition opposition and the federal government adopted a policy to ban under-16s from using social media. years waiting for legislation to be introduced in parliament before the end of the year.
In the 12 recommendations of the final reportThe joint committee recommended that the government consider options to make it easier for it to enforce laws on digital platforms, introduce a duty of care for platforms, require platforms to provide access to data to researchers and public interest organisations, provide users greater control over what they see on platforms through algorithms, provide greater education in digital literacy, and report to parliament on the outcome of the trial of age control technology.
Despite the bipartisan position prohibiting those under 16 from accessing social media, the inquiry made no recommendation to adopt this policy, noting that there were “contrasting opinions on whether to make social media safer for children.” means preventing them from accessing social networks until they reach an age limit. certain age.” He said there was widespread agreement that a ban alone was not enough to curb harm on social media.
The committee recommended that any regulatory framework affecting young people be designed jointly with young people. During fact-finding hearings, the committee heard from young people who had been frustrated at being left out of the process.
“I just don’t know where that age (16) comes from and what the evidence is behind it and if it’s effective… it seems like it’s just a number that someone pulled out of the air, and it sounds good,” Sina Aghamofid, an advocate of Reach Out, he told the inquest last month.
“Politically, it is a great time. But I haven’t really heard the reasons why we’ve gotten to this age and what the evidence is for this kind of age.”
Committee chair and Labor MP Sharon Claydon said parliamentary experts had said there was no magic solution, but the government should take “immediate action to better protect Australian users”.
“We heard that while legislating an age limit might not be the perfect solution, and certainly should not be the only solution, it would provide important breathing space for the implementation of long-term sustainable digital reforms.”
Committee vice-chairwoman and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said a blanket age ban on social media was not the solution.
“The evidence is available and it is clear that prohibiting young people from accessing YouTube is not the solution,” he said. “You don’t make platforms safer simply by leaving out young people. “This report is a call to action for our parliament to stop the toxic tech giants damaging our democracy and attacking our children.”
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In a further report, the Greens called on the government to immediately publish the review of the Online Safety Act, ban data mining of young people’s information, provide more education and consider a tax on digital services on platforms.
In a lengthy further report by Coalition committee members, members recommended stronger action against social media, including forcing companies to scan encrypted messages for child abuse material and forcing search engines to report What measures are they taking against similar material and in general. Pornographic material that appears in search results. They also called for a crackdown on “link in bio” links placed on social media profiles to link to adult websites or fraudulent ads.
On Friday, the government named the UK-based company Age Verification Certification Scheme will run the expected six-month test of the age control technology, including testing of identification credentials, age estimation, age inference, and certifications or parental controls. Australians will be invited to try out the different technologies during the trial.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said there will be no grandfathering for existing users, and department officials last month said Senate estimates that all users will have to go through the age assurance process, not just minors. 16 years old.
The trial will not be completed before parliament considers legislation requiring a ban on under-16s, and providers will have 12 months to implement the age guarantee, delaying the launch of the ban beyond the next few years. federal elections.