Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Like most parents and members in this place I'm deeply concerned about the potential harms of social media and I'm passionate about what we as a government can do to rein it in. Recently, in the US former Facebook employee Frances Haugen has given testimony and shed light on the inner workings of Facebook. I've asked her to likewise brief Australian MPs this Thursday. Parents and MPs are alive to the harm that social media can cause. We hear stories about it every day. The content is selectively targeted, not enough is done to remove harmful content and anonymous predators have far too much freedom on these platforms. What is disturbing about Frances's testimony is that Facebook and its offshoot like Instagram know of many of these risks and do far too little to address them. Her testimony indicates that there is an active effort by Facebook not to know: not to properly staff oversight units, not to create detection systems that could pick up under-age users or inappropriate or damaging content. It is simply a 'don't look, don't tell' mentality. We do not have to choose between staying connected and having appropriate privacy and protection. I'm proud to be part of a government that is focused on this and keeping Australian families safe online. We have the world's first eSafety Commissioner, a new online safety bill that targets trolls terrorising adults and kids, and there are more money and resources for our child protection officers. But it's clear Facebook and other social media companies need to be further regulated. They are publishers of this harmful material, plain and simple, and we as a government will continue to keep Australians safe online.