During the Vietnam War young people weren’t allowed to drink but they were permitted to fight in battle, former Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale president Keith Ellis said in outlining his argument against the federal government’s social media ban for children under the age of 16.
Mr Ellis said children benefit from being able to access information online but it was the responsibility of their guardian and the government to ensure kids don’t misuse online platforms.
He said putting restrictions on kids would be a difficult task.
“They’re going to do it anyway,” Mr Ellis said.
“Let the kids be free – it’s all about parenting.
“Instead of banning, (the government) should run a campaign on all the responsibilities as a parent.”
From December 10, the eSafety Commissioner said age-restricted social media platforms would have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.
“The restrictions aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts,” the eSafety Commissioner said.
The department hasn’t made formal assessments yet but said the restriction would likely apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, among other platforms.
The eSafety Commissioner said parents or under-16s would not be penalised if they accessed age-restricted platforms but the onus was on social media companies who could face fines of up to $50 million.
Under the federal government’s social media minimum age (SMMA) fact sheet, a key feature of the restriction is that no Australian will be compelled to use government identification to prove their age online and platforms must offer reasonable alternatives to users.
“(SMMA) establishes robust privacy protections, placing limitations on the use of information collected by platforms for the purposes of satisfying the minimum age obligation, and requiring the destruction of information following its use,” the fact sheet said.
On Monday, August 25, the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale will be hosting an all-ages free community information session with lawyer and workshop facilitator Paris McNeil at the Byford Secondary College performing arts theatre.
“Paris understands the pressure and anxiety that comes with being surrounded by technology because she’s lived it,” the shire said.
The Shire said without well-rounded support, the shift may leave children feeling anxious, disconnected and overwhelmed.
Fifteen-year-old Gosnells resident Brock Read said a lot of his friends were turning 16 before the restriction was enforced.
He said the restriction would make him feel isolated from his friends who would be able to use social media.
“We use Snapchat everyday and that’s what we all talk on,” Brock said.
“We’ll be missing out on a lot of conversations happening and it’ll just be harder to plan stuff.”
Brock said he thinks there’s a lot of ways kids could get around the ban because it’s up to the companies to regulate the apps.
“The companies, they’re not going to really want all these people not using their apps anymore,” he said.
“So, they’re going to make it easy to bypass it.”
Mr Ellis said although the social media restrictions may be ineffective, he thought SJ’s information about the ban was a good idea for parents.
