QCCL opposes laws to ban children under 16 from social media

“QCCL opposes laws to ban children under 16 from social media. This appears to be the latest in a series of moral panics about new technology going back to Plato” says QCCL President Michael Cope

Although children do not have the same right of access to information and ideas as adults, they do have a right to access information and it cannot be simply reduced to zero in the case of one of the most important sources of ideas and information in the contemporary world.

The evidence that children are adversely affected by social media is very contested[1].

In 2011, the South Korean government citing fears about their mental health, sleep quality, and academic performance, banned children from using the internet between the hours of midnight to 6am. This ban stood in place for an entire 10 years and had practically no effect.

“The distinction between the online world and the “real” world is constructed by adults and does not reflect that young people today simply live out parts of their lives online. But this is not new, when i was young older people wanted me to get out in the real world and not watch tv” says Mr Cope

Even if this law is implemented, tools like VPNs mean it is likely to leak like a sieve. Anyone who thinks a teenager won't find a way to get around such a system is kidding themselves.

There are things we can do to make the experience of everyone online better:

1.    Increase privacy protections to stop the collection of data that enables them to target us - a good start would be for the government to implement the recommendation of the privacy review by amending the Privacy Act to require that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information must be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

2.    Regulate what is called the recommendation algorithm, as opposed to the content moderation algorithms of social media. These are the computer code that are used by social media to amplify provocative comment to provoke anger and thereby drive traffic to their sites. These algorithms are not speech. They are code that perform a function ie to keep people on the platform and do not communicate ideas and attitudes of anyone. So that to the extent they cause harm they can and should be regulated by carefully drafted laws aimed at controlling these techniques.

Many experts have recommended that the best way to address this issue is for parents to become involved in their children's digital lives: talk to them about social media and help them understand and deal with the risks and benefits of social media.

“There have been panics about the effect of technology on children since antiquity, extending to recent examples such as radio, television and comic books. We should not be taking such extreme action in response to this one”

For further information contact Michael Cope President QCCL on 07 3223 5939 during office hours and at all times on 0432 847 154

 

 25 November 2024  

[1] A social media ban for children would actually solve nothing. Here’s why  https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/social-media-ban-children - global mental health survey of children over 18 years suggests no relationship between internet and mental health of young people and Should parents be worried about social media ? We asked 5 experts https://theconversation.com/should-parents-be-worried-about-social-media-we-asked-5-experts-238772