Australia passed a law on Thursday (Nov 28) to ban social media for children aged under 16 after days of heated debate, setting a standard for other countries to follow in a global push to curb the power of Big Tech.
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00:00The question now is that the remaining stages of the bill be agreed to, and the bill be now passed.
00:07Those for the question say aye.
00:10Against, no.
00:12I think the ayes have it.
00:14Division required. Ring the bells one minute.
00:19Honourable Senators, there being 34 ayes and 19 noes,
00:25it is resolved in the affirmative.
00:30Parents can have a different discussion with their young ones.
00:35A different discussion that will result in better outcomes and less harm for young Australians.
00:44Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them.
00:52We're making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days.
00:59We've got your back is our message to Australian parents.
01:04One of the issues we're dealing with here, some of it is social harm and some of the bullying that can occur as well.
01:14Look, the consequences I've met with parents have lost and buried their child.
01:20It's devastating.
01:22We can't, as a government, hear those messages from parents and say it's too hard.
01:30We have a responsibility to act.
01:34My government has done that.
01:37I do think it contributes to body image issues and the potential risks of cyberbullying.
01:45It's very good that the government intends to counteract that.
01:50However, social media is such a prevalent part in young people's lives and how people socialise and interact with each other and keep in contact and build relationships with each other.
02:04With such a clear-cut ban, I believe that it will only create a generation of young people who will be more technologically literate in bypassing these wars and things that will be used to deter young people.
02:22I do think, generally, in my social group and classmates, that we all know that social media isn't good for us.
02:31But it is hard to get off of it because, once again, it's really deeply ingrained in our society and how we interact with other people.
02:41Well, news to me this morning.
02:44I can understand why measures might want to be put in place.
02:49Obviously, young kids are dealing with a lot and being exposed to a lot through social media.
02:55I'm not sure if a full ban under the age of 16 is the right way to go.
02:59I think that might just potentially create more issues in the future or ways that kids might want to try and access social media under that age.
03:08But, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it unfolds.
03:12I mean, not to sound like an old fart, but when I was a child, it was my parents' responsibility to enforce what I was doing and make sure that I was not exposing myself to any harm.
03:25And I think that maybe a government intervention is probably unnecessary on such a wide scale.
03:30I think, potentially, there needs to be a lot more education for parents about what potentially is available on social media to their very young children.
03:38And then it should ultimately be, I feel, probably more their responsibility than a government-wide ban on something like that.
03:44I'm feeling very angry.
03:46I feel that this government has taken democracy and thrown it out the window.
03:52And how can they possibly make up these rules and these laws and push it upon the people without a due process?
03:59I feel like I'd still use it to secretly get into something.
04:04But, like, I don't know.
04:07You're going to miss it, aren't you?
04:09Yeah.
04:10YouTube. What else?
04:11TikTok.
04:12Yeah.
04:13Instagram is on.
04:15Snapchat. What else?
04:18I think that's a great idea because I found that the social media for kids is not really appropriate.
04:30Sometimes they can, you know, have a look at something that they shouldn't.
04:35So I think for the age, I think we should really not have an access for, you know, children or kids that are underage.