Australia has introduced a ban on most social media for under 16s, a ban most of them are working to bypass, often successfully. The ban was designed to protect younger children from the many ‘evils’ that they shouldn’t face but it seems now to be mislabelled as censorship by the US congress.
The Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant who is tasked with implementing this is now the subject of a ‘request’ to attend an interview with Congress members as she is trying to “to design and implement a global censorship regime” although her reluctance is likely to lead to contempt charges.
Is the reality that this Ban will take eyes away from these sites and possibly never return and thus so many ads will be unseen? The main social media companies often seem to be intangible, located somewhere but uncontactable, able to instantly block someone they dislike but unable to stop bullying or most offensive material. Something needs to be fixed.
It is likely we will see this become far more complex with censorship/protection for specific ages groups likely to be challenged by those affected and those who have lost their audience. Freedom from censorship should be fought for, but it shouldn’t involve innocent children nor the innocence of those children.
Rather than condemning the ban that protects the children, the US Congress and the leadership of all countries should consider its implementation as soon as possible.
Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia
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