Proposed Social Media ban for under-16 kids

[kyle]

So any visitors or residents to Australia won't actually have to worry about it.

So a 15yo non-resident can't access either? I can compare this to China's Great Firewall.

 

[kyle]

I can't wait to see the day when:
1. technology would make the legislation totally irrelevant and useless
2. everyone flouts the law
3. the law is struck down by a constitutional challenge

Looks like I won't be voting for either major party in the upcoming election. So long.

 

[CaptJCool]

Policy to the logistics of making it work IRL

The 1975 solution to a 2025 problem
This is a “you all get punished for the sins of a few”
It’s the teacher saying “you all gotta be quiet and if one of you isn’t, you’ll all have detention after school”

Dumb and dumber and then they wonder why they keep losing the voters

On the flip side
One life saved
Too often online complete strangers will write something obnoxious “because they don’t like your expressed opinion”. Personal name calling and OMFG on FACEBOOK of all places and they’re exempt from this legislation

 

[downgraded]

So a 15yo non-resident can't access either? I can compare this to China's Great Firewall.

Overseas visitors and non-residents have to obey other Australian laws. This is fundamentally no different. But it smacks of politics getting in the way of good government, even if both sides were politicking.

 

[Daver6]

I can't wait to see the day when:
1. technology would make the legislation totally irrelevant and useless
2. everyone flouts the law
3. the law is struck down by a constitutional challenge

Looks like I won't be voting for either major party in the upcoming election. So long.

That day is today for 1 and 2.

 

[lovestotravel]

Just another day closer to

Demolition Man (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kyle]

Overseas visitors and non-residents have to obey other Australian laws. This is fundamentally no different. But it smacks of politics getting in the way of good government, even if both sides were politicking.

What I'm saying is, politicians love to attack China for their authoritarian stance, yet the effect of this will be like China's Great Firewall. One minute you can access Google, the next minute you step foot into China and it's gone.

 

[Lynda2475]

Realistically given there will be no formal validation of government issued ID there is no way to actually verify age other then the honesty system. This will make no material difference, it is purely virtue signalling.

In the event a kid commits suicide then they will try and blame the social media platform if the kid is on one, issue a fine but then lawyers will need to prove that was the sole cause and not other in person or direct messaging bullying.

Also if kid lies about age (or otherwise circumvents reasonable site controls) then its a case of parents notproperly supervising/parenting not the platforms fault.

If the major social media sites cop too many few fines, i imagine it will be cheaper for them to block all Australian IP addresses thereby blocking everyone not just kids. Meaning adults are excluded from making the decision to consume social media or not.

 

[JohnK]

Curiously incoherent post @JohnK

You make a vigorous libertarian case and conclude with “the government should be doing more”. You can’t have it both ways

Apologies if incoherent.

The government should be doing more on things like companies ripping us off, drugs, criminals and making things fair for everyone.

Telling me how I should bring up my child and making that into law will only encourage me to disobey because I totally disagree with the proposed ban. I should be able to decide how to bring up my child without the government interfering. This includes compelled speech. Actually compelled speech has the potential to cause more damage.

I do break the law. I do u-turns on double yellow lines or unbroken lines because I don't want to drive up extra 150 metres, turn into narrow side street, do 3 point turn and then drive back down into my driveway.

I do break the speed limit occasionally. I think most of us do it? Right? It's not wrong because most do it and accept it.

I have been known to drink alcohol in my car but now I don't drink in Australia this is not an issue. P.S. I think 0.05 limit is stupid. I'm 140kg and can get to 0.15 before alcohol has any serious effect on me yet I'm treated the same as the 45kg person who is drunk on 0.02 alcohol.

We all break the law. Each of us decides how much of the law to break.

 

[MooTime]

Also if kid lies about age (or otherwise circumvents reasonable site controls) then its a case of parents notproperly supervising/parenting not the platforms fault.

you can't be serious can you??

If a teenager circumvents site controls it's a case of parents not properly supervising/ parenting.

I'm sure you weren't meant to say that....blame parents? maybe you were.

I mean we allow young adults to pop illegal drugs at festivals, now taking a look at the pill, testing it & yep all good, go get off your head, we'll be here later place you in back of an ambulance, but use tiktoc, oh no, that's forbidden!

 

[Lynda2475]

you can't be serious can you??

Certainly you can't be serious comparing supervised responsible social media usage with illicit drug use?

FWIW i don't condone recreational drug use for any age group nor do I support pill testing at festivals. I've never felt compelled to get drunk or use drugs at a concert or music festival, I'm there to enjoy the music/ performance. If you need to be out of your skull to have a good time, clearly you are going to see the wrong acts.

Substance abuse will not solve your problems. Taking ownership of your choices and seeking help from the right people is the wiser path, and a responsible parent should be helping their children to take the wiser path.

Deferring parental responsibility to media companies is lazy. Better to raise responsible kids, who show respect for themselves and peers. Education re consequences of poor decision making trumps prohibition every time.

Can social media companies do better to remove harmful content ? Absolutely. But this legislation won't fix that, it will just make kids want to be online more because you won't let them connect with their peers; so they will find ways around the restrictions (just like banning alcohol lead to unofficial markets for it).

Parents need to have a open dialogue with their kids, make them aware of the dangers of engaging with others online and stay involved in their lives. Not expect the government or Big Tech to parent for them.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

you can't be serious can you??

If a teenager circumvents site controls it's a case of parents not properly supervising/ parenting.

I'm sure you weren't meant to say that....blame parents? maybe you were.

I mean we allow young adults to pop illegal drugs at festivals, now taking a look at the pill, testing it & yep all good, go get off your head, we'll be here later place you in back of an ambulance, but use tiktoc, oh no, that's forbidden!

The bottom line is safety.

People take drugs. They have done for at least half a century. If you’re going to take them, better to do it safely than be dead.

The problem with social media is that kids who get bullied on line may hide that from their parents. Absolutely social media companies should be quicker to ban or block offensive and harmful content. But they have to know about it first. If parents don’t know, who’s going to report it?

And parents aren’t controlling bullies.

 

[JessicaTam]

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A large number of posts have been deleted. Please keep to the topic. Any discussion that becomes political will be deleted and infractions issued.
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