By Jem Anshaw
From December 10 the Federal Government will bring in a ban on anyone under 16-years-old having social media accounts.
The ban may sound harsh, but after talking about the motivations behind it with Federal Member for Hunter Dan Repacholi it becomes clearer why they have done it.
“We have put an age restriction on to be able to make sure that our kids aren’t being exposed to stuff online that they were never meant to see,” he said.
“The bullying, the predators, the violent content and addictive algorithms designed to keep them scrolling.”
Mr Repacholi said the onus will be on the social media platforms to have suitable checks and restrictions in place, or they will run the risk of being fined up to $49.5 million if they are found to be breaching the national laws.
Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Snapchat will all be required to verify the age of users and ensure that no-one under 16 has an account with them.
“What I really want to see from this is kids being kids again, being out there enjoying their time, spending time together, not just talking online and messaging online,” Mr Repacholi told The Hunter River Times.
“When we were growing up at school we had the luxury of being able to be finished at school, and if there was a bully there, you used to be able to get away from them and go and hang out with the people you wanted to hang out with.
“Now they can be targeted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That is that is so scary, so sad that that can actually happen.”
There have been a lot of comments made around the exclusion of Roblox from the ban, but its educational benefits and ability for parental control were the main considerations in it remaining available for youth access.
Mr Repacholi is sympathetic to the impending battles parents will have with their teenagers once the restriction comes in to place next month, having pressure from his 12-year-old daughter to get Snapchat and Tiktok.
“The biggest thing in the parental toolbox is that it is now legislated that there is age restrictions for kids under the age of 16, same as drinking, kids can’t drink until they’re over 18. kids can’t drive a car and get their learners until they turn over 16,” he said.
“Some of them will try and figure out ways to get around this, as they do in many, many other things in life, but we just need to make sure that we’re giving them the best possible start, and this is the way of doing that.”
As has always been the case, parents are encouraged to have open conversations with their children about digital safety, and ensure they are monitoring what their kids are doing online and who they are interacting with.
For more information about the restrictions, as well as details about webinars for parents and more, visit the eSafety Commissioner website, www.esafety.gov.au.
