Experts Point to Major Problem with Anthony Albanese’s Banning of Social Media for Children Under 16

Australians are being urged to confront the impact of social media on children, but experts are divided on a blanket ban.

Tech giants are wary of an age limit on social media, saying it’s not up to them to enforce the rules, but up to app stores to ensure safety across the board.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is arguing against giving social media companies the responsibility to enforce a proposed age limit of 16, saying the technology for a perfect solution is “not quite there yet.”

Parents and young people would bear the burden if each app had to implement its own age checks, said Mia Garlick, Meta’s policy director for Australia and New Zealand.

“We fully agree that there should be appropriate experiences for young people with services like the ones we offer,” she told ABC radio on Friday.

“The challenge is that the technology isn’t quite there yet in terms of having a perfect solution.”

App stores introducing controls allowed information to be extrapolated, Ms Garlick said.

“When you get a new phone or a new device, you sit down as a family for a while to get everything set up,” she said.

Meta’s policy director for Australia and New Zealand, Mia Garlick (left), said the perfect solution isn’t quite ready yet

Michelle Rowland and Anthony Albanese supported their proposed social media age limit

“Age information is collected at that moment and so there is a very simple solution, that at that one moment… verification can take place.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host a virtual national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders on Friday to sign off on the age limit, with legislation set to be introduced in the coming weeks.

It was important that the perfect not become the enemy of the good, said researcher Samuel Cornell.

Social media was a driver of risky behavior in children and had previously led to deaths after attempts to copy viral challenges, he said.

“I don’t think it’s a perfect solution, but there is harm being done to children and young people,” he told AAP.

“It’s not right to throw up our hands,” Cornell said.

Social media companies must be held accountable for their services, Minister Bill Shorten said, as he flagged further work in this area, including a duty of care.

‘We do not ask citizens and car users to take their own seat belts to a car, so why should social media companies ignore their own duty of care?’ he said.

But there are concerns that a ban on social media would likely give parents a false sense of security while excluding young people from crucial information.

Platforms play a crucial role in young people’s engagement with education, potential employers, healthcare services and personal networks of people with shared interests, says RMIT Professor of Information Science Lisa Give.

The government is pushing for laws banning teens under the age of 16 from using social media

“They may be struggling with many different issues in their lives, without access to appropriate support at home or in their community,” she said.

Ms Garlick defended allegations that the tech giant was trying to pass the buck and protect profits.

Meta has already implemented security checks, such as asking their age upon sign-up and using artificial intelligence to determine if people’s ages appear different than they stated, she said.

“We remove people who are under the relevant age and then we also determine certain types of content that may not be appropriate,” she said.

Ms Garlick pointed to an Instagram initiative that automatically places young people on an age-appropriate account, which has some limitations.

Meta would not fight and campaign against the laws if they were passed by parliament, she said.

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