By PM Anthony Albanese
Last year, Australia took world-leading action by banning children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts.
It was one of the biggest social and cultural changes our country has ever faced, and it
was led by Australian parents protecting children.
When we proposed and introduced the ban, there were sceptics, there still are.
We didn’t lead the world for the sake of it.
We took action because the community said enough was enough and we would no longer let Australian kids be treated as commodities instead of children.
Our action is working. More than five million accounts have been removed or deactivated in Australia, and we have started a global movement, with more than 20 countries taking similar action to get kids off social media.
Despite our success, we know there is more to do. Our government will not back down.
This week in Canberra, we will seek to pass new legislation to double down on our efforts to protect Australian children from the harms of social media.
This legislation will give the eSafety Commissioner new powers to crack down on platforms that refuse to follow Australian laws to ensure the ban is effective.
The legislation does two things. It gives the government regulator the powers it needs to collect critical evidence, and it doubles the penalty that big tech faces for breaking Australian law.
When we passed our world-leading laws, we had bipartisan support. We said at the time we knew these laws wouldn’t be perfect and that it would take time to see the full impact.
Now, the parliament has the opportunity to come together again to strengthen bipartisan laws and to hold some of the richest organisations in the world to account for choosing company profits over child safety.
While we are strengthening the ban, we are taking the next steps to make interactions with the internet safer for all Australians – through our Digital Duty of Care.
This landmark reform will put the onus on services providers to take reasonable steps to create a safe online environment for all Australians.
We are also looking at what action we can take on harmful algorithms.
The evidence is overwhelming.
Algorithms are pushing people further and further to the extremes.
They are driving users – often young people – down rabbit holes of harmful content.
We also know harmful algorithms can be devastating for young people and body-image issues.
For young men, those paths far too often lead to misogynistic voices detached from the values and expectations of our societies.
The government is under no illusions. The connection between what is being fed to people on feeds and the terrible consequences of sexual violence that we see far too often in our communities is clear.
Every woman and every girl have the right to feel safe and must be safe at all times – in our workplaces, in our schools, in our sporting clubs, in our homes and online.
This is not about giving government control. It’s about giving people control.
People should have control of what they consume, and tech companies have a responsibility for what they platform on their services.
Advocates such as Chanel Contos and Teach Us Consent have highlighted the dangers of systems that push content on to users they may not be looking for – and which may harm them.
The Digital Duty of Care will place the responsibility on platforms to provide a safe online environment for all Australians.
We want to give users more choice of their digital platforms, rather than platforms having control over people.
Contributing Author: PM Anthony Albanese
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The Australia Today is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts, or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of The Australia Today, and The Australia Today News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. This Op-ed has been provided by PM&C.
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