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Social media debate grows: Platforms request delay against law

byadmin
November 25, 2024

Australia is preparing to restrict children’s access to social media. Platforms, on the other hand, warned that the bans would direct children to more unsafe media and demanded that the bill be postponed.

Social media platforms X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok requested that the proposed bill to block children’s access to social media in Australia be postponed. Sunita Bose, the director of Digital Industry Group Inc., which represents these social media platforms in the country, testified in the Senate.
Bose noted that the team formed by the Australian government to examine the impact of social media platforms on children will complete its work in June 2025, and stated that the proposed bill to block children’s access to social media should be postponed until these studies are completed. Responding to a question from Australian Senator Ross Cadell about age restrictions on creating accounts on social media platforms, Bose stated that platforms needed to be improved in this regard.
Bose claimed that the proposed bill would isolate some children and push them into “darker and less safe online environments” and that “children’s safety would be at risk” if the bill were passed. Responding to Senator Jacqui Lambie’s question about why social media platforms did not use certain algorithms to protect children from dangerous content, Bose noted that such algorithms were already in use and that investments needed to be made to work better.
Speaking to the Senate, Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland stated that social media in its current form is “not safe” for children. Rowland noted that access to social media should not be seen as a “defining feature” of growing up, and said, “There is more to life than constant notifications, endless scrolling and the pressure to conform to the fake and unrealistic perfectionism that can be presented by influencers.”
A bill that would block children under the age of 16 from accessing social media in Australia is on the country’s agenda. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who supports the proposed bill, stated that social media platforms are “damaging to children’s mental health” and that children should play outside. stated.
If the bill becomes law, social media platforms will be required to make regulations to prevent children under the age of 16 from accessing the platforms within a year. Platforms that do not comply could be fined up to approximately $33 million (approximately 1.1 billion lira). The bill, supported by the country’s major parties, is expected to become law this week.
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