Family First welcomes the news that National MP Catherine Wedd’s Bill aims to introduce protections for under-16-year-olds accessing social media. Her Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill was drawn from the Members’ Ballot in parliament today, which means MPs will debate it in the coming weeks.
While the Bill itself is rather simple, Family First hopes it will encourage further discussion and speed up the government’s work in this space.
When Ms Wedd’s Bill was first drafted, it was not adopted by the government despite her being a National MP. Instead, the Prime Minister asked the Minister of Education to task officials to do more work into this space. This request was in response to Australia’s passing of its Social Media Minimum Age Law, which will insist that social media providers take all reasonable steps to ensure those under 16 are not accessing their platforms from the 10th of December this year.
The Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is similar to Australia’s. He places the responsibility on social media platforms to implement measures that prevent those under 16 from accessing sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Family First acknowledges this is quite a broad request and doesn’t clearly outline what social media providers should do. However, we also note that the government has readily and easily insisted that the likes of online gambling providers introduce age verification with little hesitation or concern.
If the Bill passes First Reading and opens to public submissions via the Select Committee, Family First hopes wider consideration is given to options being explored overseas. We note the initiatives in the United States (in States such as Utah, Texas, and Florida) that target the App Stores such as Google Play and Apple. As discussed in a Family Matters podcast with Melissa McKay of the Digital Childhood Alliance, targeting the downloading of apps such as TikTok and Snapchat is an effective way of limiting young people’s access to social media platforms. As Melissa noted, people are already required by these app stores to both prove their age and give consent.
Family First reminds people of Dr Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness”, – and his research, which clearly shows the correlation between the introduction of smartphones and a significant decline in young people’s mental health. (Dr Haidt was a guest at last year’s Forum on the Family, and he called on New Zealand and other countries to do more to protect young people from the harms online)
*Written by Family First writers*
