Hi hi Trish curious what ur thoughts are on the new Aussie social media law. Good? Bad?
Hi there, and welcome back to another week of Ask Trish. I hope you’re all well and having a great December. We’re just a few weeks away from the end of 2024–and the end of this year’s Ask Trish content! But the good news is: we have one additional post to go, coming to you all next Monday, December 23rd (consider it a Christmas gift!). And, of course, I hope you enjoy this week’s brief post, which tackles a very interesting, hot topic.
On that note, a huge thank you to this week’s question-er for the fantastic question. Indeed, at the tail-end of last month, Australia took a step that no country around the world has (at least, yet)–they banned social media for under-16s. Unsurprisingly, the news has gotten a lot of attention, with many folks wondering what, exactly, to make of this development. Rather than write an opinion piece, as always, here, on Ask Trish, I’m going to give y’all the basics, key info. that you can use as a launchpad for further research and to develop your own view. There’s truthfully not the right answer here per se: many experts and thinkers are split, as are parents, youth, and educators. As a colleague of mine said, “This will be an experiment.” That it will be! Hopefully, I can offer y’all some guidance on how to think about this experiment and its implications.
So with that, let me dive into (i) what, exactly, this new law is, (ii) some arguments for it, and (iii) some arguments against it.
First up: what exactly is in this law? Australia’s ban will, as stated, prohibit children under the age of 16 from using social media platforms. Other countries have passed similar bans, but a minimum age of 16 to use these platforms is the highest set by any country. And, unlike other, similar legislation, there are no exceptions for existing under-16 users, or for users that have parental consent to use social media platforms. (Note that the ban doesn’t go into effect for a year, so those that are currently ~15 and older will not be affected.) You might be wondering…what platforms are banned? Good question. The legislation doesn’t actually specify that; instead, those decisions will be made by Australia’s communications agency, with input from their eSafety Commissioner, the country’s internet regulator, who will enforce the rules that the agency promulgates. The prime minister has already specified, however, that Snapchat, TikTok, X, and Instagram will be included, while YouTube and messaging apps like WhatsApp will likely be exempt. And how, you might wonder, will it actually enforce the ban? Well, the ban actually specifies that users will not be forced to provide government identification as part of a verification process–with the goal of protecting users’ privacy and rights. But some verification method is likely. And, well, what if youth find work-arounds? Australian lawmakers are expecting that, to some extent. Even so, neither children nor parents will be punished for violating the law–Australia says its goal is simply to reign the negative effects of social media on younger youth.
Okay…so that’s the law. What’s the potential good here, and what are some potential concerns? I’m going to actually implement an Ask Trish’s reader suggestion (I got this piece of advice last week! Thank you to the reader!) and make a pro/con list. So here’s a simple, easy-to-follow list that will hopefully get you thinking about the different dimensions of this legislation:
Pros [or, things that might make you think, “This is the right approach!”]
- Many youth report that social media worsens their mental health and sense of self, with devastating consequences; this legislation can help address that
- Though the science may not be definitive on social media’s impacts on mental health, policy decisions are rarely made entirely based on causal evidence
- Older youth still retain access to social media
- Educational social media, like YouTube, remains accessible
- Parents will no longer feel the burden of digitally parenting when youth are young and still building key digital literacy skills
- This legislation may incentivize social media to invest in content moderation practices and building better safety features
- This is quite like legislation in other countries; in fact, France passed a law last year requiring parental consent for young users under the age of 15
Cons [or, things that may give you pause…]
- Youth will lose an important form of social connection and an avenue for free speech and creativity
- Verification may encroach on youth privacy rights
- Youth will inevitably find a way around the ban
- The ban doesn’t actually tackle the harm on the platforms, which will continue to negatively affect other users
- 16 is, to some, an arbitrary age to select–why 16 and not another age?
- This legislation is too expansive; a more tailored, iterative approach would truly allow experimentation
It’s tricky, huh? It absolutely is. But I hope that this gives you some interesting food for thought. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for new developments related to this law and keep y’all updated. In return…the only thing that I ask is that you share any of your internet/tech-related concerns and musings with me here. It literally takes 30 seconds – seriously! So please, get submitting! Thank you all a ton in advance for your amazing contributions.
See you all again one last time next week,
Trish