A principal analyst has raised concerns about Australia's newly passed social media ban for children and teenagers under 16.
With bipartisan support, the bill of social media ban for children under 16 passed the Senate of Australia on Thursday, the final sitting day of the year.
Under the world-first law, children and teenagers under 16 in Australia will be banned from using social media starting at the end of next year, a move that both the government and opposition party argue is necessary to protect their mental health and wellbeing.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Liz Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research, Inc., questioned the effectiveness of the measure, highlighting the broader challenges of regulating harmful content and its impact across age groups.
"Even if we are able to block a significant number of young people, people under the age of 16, from being able to create accounts and log into the social media channels, is that really going to impact enough? Because where the damage is really happening is a lot of the content, the conversation and the community that has an adverse effect on a lot of people, regardless of their age (related) psyche. I think there are a lot of questions, I think Australia is trying to take a hard stand. The question is going to be is whether we can enforce that," she said.
In addition, Miller also expressed concern about whether this will push young people into less regulated corners of the dark web.
"We all know that teenagers, regardless of what generation we became teenagers, we know how to get what we want. And right now, kids want that connection, and they want that social content. They want the videos, they want to laugh, they want to connect. I think the earnest desire to connect via these channels is always going to be there. They will find a way to get that. Unfortunately, kids who are looking for something that is a bit more specific -- that are looking for things that can be very damaging to not only their psyche, but to also to other folks in the community -- they're gonna find that online. So the bigger question becomes, what role have we missed out on in being able to not only just regulate and being able to say to kids, this is not content that we should be seeking out? How do we have a bit more control of that within our own homes and in our lives? It is a question that a lot of parents are starting to ask," she said.
Principal analyst has concerns about social media ban for children under 16 in Australia
