By Tamary Bar
Australian esaffite committee member Julie Inman Grant spoke today to the National Press Club to outline how her office will promote social media minimum age bills when it comes into effect this December.
Often called the ban on social media, the bill prevents under the age of 16 from having a social media account. But Inman Grant hopes Australians view the bill as a “social media delay” rather than a ban.
– Advertising –
When the ban was legislated in November 2024, the federal government gave up on YouTube exemptions and cited the platform’s educational purposes.
Inman Grant advises the government to remove this exemption for the harm young people can experience on YouTube. But as she pointed out, there are new risks, especially for young people whose ban from generative artificial intelligence (AI) doesn’t address.
YouTube ban
According to a new study from Esafety, 37% of young people encountered harmful content on YouTube. This was the highest percentage of all platforms.
In her speech, Inman Grant claims that YouTube has “studied persuasive design,” and is proficient in using algorithms and recommendations to keep young people scrolling, meaning that exempting YouTube from the ban makes no sense.
Her advice to Annika Wells’ communications minister, which she provided last week, is not to exempt YouTube and effectively include the platform in its ban authority.
Naturally, YouTube Australia and New Zealand responded with energy. In a statement released today, the company owned by Google claims that
Esafety’s advice goes against the government’s own commitment, community sentiment, original research into independent research, and the views of key stakeholders in this discussion.
– Advertising –
YouTube denies it is a social media platform and claims that the advice that should be included in the ban is “inconsistent and contradictory.”
However, considering the appearance and feel of YouTube shorts, it’s very similar to Tiktok, waives YouTube while banning Tiktok and Instagram reels, and shortens Tiktok’s vertical videos.
You may also be able to view public YouTube videos without a YouTube account. The argument that including YouTube in the ban would cease educational use is not much weight.
How does ban work?
Inman Grant took great care to emphasize that the responsibility for the ban lies with the tech giants and platforms.
Young people who avoid the ban, or parents or caregivers who help them, will not be punished.
Various tools and technologies for inferring users’ age are being investigated by platforms and other age validation and assurance vendors.
Australia’s Age Guaranteed Technology Trial released its preliminary survey results last week. However, these findings were actually nothing more than press releases.
No technical details were shared, and only high-level statements were made clear in the trial that age-assisted technology could work.
These early findings revealed that the trial “did not find a single ubiquitous solution suitable for all use cases.” This suggests that there is no completely reliable age insurance tool.
If these tools become one of the main gatekeepers that Australians will have access to or will not allow online platforms, then full reliability would be desirable.
Concerns about AI
Very rightly, Inman Grant began his speech by flagging emerging harms that are not actually addressed by new law. Generated AI was at the top of the list.
The unregulated use of AI companions and bots was particularly concerning, and young people formed a deep attachment to these tools, sometimes in harmful ways.
Genetic AI also makes it much easier to create Deepfark images and videos, making it easier for young people to be harmed and cause real harm to each other.
A recent report I co-authored from the Digital Child Highlights ARC Center of Excellence shows that there are many pressing questions in terms of how children and young people use and experience generated AI in their daily lives.
For example, despite the tendency for these tools to glitch and manufacture information, they are increasingly being used in place of search engines for basic information gathering, life advice, and even mental health support.
Protecting the privacy of young people is a major challenge when using these tools, compared to social media platforms that already circumvent privacy.
There are many new opportunities for AI, but there are also many new risks.
Generic AI is relatively new and as it changes rapidly, more research is urgently needed to find the safest and most appropriate way for AI to be part of the lives of young people.
What will happen in December?
Social media users under the age of 16, parents and caregivers should prepare for the change in the online experiences of young people this December, when the ban begins.
The exact platforms included in the ban, as well as the exact mechanisms for measuring the age of Australian users, are still debated.
The Esafety Commissioner made her claim today so that fewer platforms could be included today. But Wells already admits that
Social media age limits are not the ultimate solution for the harm experienced by young people online, but they have a huge impact.
Concerns remain about separating young people from the community and banning support, including mental health support. There is clearly work on that front.
Furthermore, the ban does not explicitly address any concerns about cyberbullying. Regarding cyberbullying, Inman Grant said it had recently “strengthened.”
It is also clear that some young people will find ways to avoid the ban. For parents and caregivers, keeping the door open for young people to discuss their online experiences is essential to supporting and keeping young Australians safe.
Tama Leaver, professor of Internet research at Curtin University
This article will be republished from the conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.
Support our journalism
Nonsense journalism. There is no paywall. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the US or India, you can support Australia by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal.
