Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are some important changes coming up soon as a result of our government's reform to make children safer online. I want to take this opportunity to talk about what these changes mean for parents, guardians and, of course, young people across our community and the country. From December, social media platforms will be required to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping social media accounts. This is something that is of huge interest to many communities, including those in Jagajaga, and I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to parents and young people in our community.

Firstly, what is actually changing? Social media platforms will have to ensure under-16s cannot hold accounts. Children will still be able to view some public content, but they won't have full accounts and platforms will be held accountable if they don't apply these changes. This is a change that is about safety and responsibility. It's about making sure that we are not taking childhood away from young people, who should be protected. It really comes about because there has been a failure of the social media platforms to do this properly—to take their social responsibility seriously. We have essentially allowed them to conduct a giant social experiment, and at many points they have shown that they did not take social responsibility seriously, and we have seen the consequences of that.

It's not unusual for government to step in and regulate if we see an industry that's doing harm to young people. We've done it with alcohol and we've done it with tobacco, and now we're doing it with social media. Importantly, under-16s or their parents will not be fined or penalised if they use or allow the use of a platform. The responsibility for this lies on the platforms, as it should.

I want to pay tribute to the parents across the country who have campaigned for this change, and I know that they've campaigned because their children have been affected in ways that they absolutely should not have been. This is a tribute to you and your work. As a parent myself, I know that this is an opportunity to have real conversations with our kids about healthy online habits, managing screen time and understanding the pressure social media can bring.

I also want to acknowledge that there are legitimate concerns from young people, who have come to me and others and said that they use social media well and that they use it to connect. This is not to say that that doesn't happen; it is to say that the vast majority of the evidence shows us that social media platforms have been harmful for young people. What we are saying is: it's not 'no social media forever', but it is 'no social media at this critical stage while you're still developing and you're still forming your brain and your relationships'.

I give my commitment to young people in my community that I'll continue to talk to them as we implement this change. Our government have prepared a range of materials to help explain these changes to young people and to schools. My office in Heidelberg will have information available, and I also encourage people to go to the eSafety Commissioner, a trusted resource, for more information.