Australia demands social media giants share data on child users

Australia has issued an urgent demand to the world’s tech giants*.

The eSafety Commission* has given social media platforms* 30 days to reveal just how many children are using their sites.

As part of the request, Google’s YouTube, Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Snap, Reddit, Discord and Twitch must explain how they stop underage users* from logging in.

The demand comes amid growing pressure on the tech industry to better protect kids online.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said since raising the age limit from 13 to 16 was “on the table,” she needed “better information to understand what will be effective”.

eSafety research has found almost a quarter of eight to 10-year-olds use social media at least weekly, while almost half of 11 to 13-year-olds log on at the same rate.

This is despite most platforms having a minimum age* limit of 13.

Ms Inman Grant also said the Commission will survey Australian children aged nine to 15 to better understand their social media habits.

The research will be combined with the information provided by the platforms in October.

“We’ll be able to really pick out where the weaknesses are,” she said, explaining that better age verification* processes could then be put in place.

Ms Inman-Grant said most platforms simply ask users to give their age without needing them to prove it, which could easily be worked around by younger children.

“The algorithms* are optimised* for adults,” she said.

“We know it may be sending those who are much more vulnerable down rabbit holes* or serving up content they just don’t have the digital resilience* or critical reasoning skills* to be able to deal with.”

Ms Inman Grant said the debate about when children should access social media was an “important national conversation” that had been “really led” by News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign calling for the age limit to be raised to 16.

“Open conversations about technology use and encouraging help-seeking behaviour* are paramount* here,” she said.

Sydney parents Dany and Cynthia Elachi’s 14-year-old daughter, Aalia, does not have social media, but still has a “fantastically full social life” connecting with her friends on video calls, over the phone or by meeting up in person.

Mr Elachi said the family supported the push to raise the minimum age for social media and hoped the change would set a new “social norm*”.

“Having a law in place that says this is not appropriate for under 16 or under 18 just sends a signal to society more broadly and it would be a lot easier for parents to have conversations with their kids about adhering* to it,” he said.

Brisbane mother Valentina David-Moody also has a strict no social media policy in her household in order to keep her children, who are aged between three and 12, safe online.

She said a change of the minimum age on social media to 16 would be a good move.

“They need to be older and better developed before they’re on there,” she said.

Ms David-Moody said none of her children were allowed access to social media.

“It’s a choice that we as parents made,” she said.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• tech giants: large technology companies that own popular social media platforms and apps
• eSafety Commission: an Australian independent regulator that educates people about online safety and helps to remove harmful online content
• social media platforms: websites where people can link up through networks and post and view online content
• underage users: people who are younger than the age allowed to use something
• minimum age: the youngest age allowed to use something
• age verification: technology that enables you to prove how old you are
• algorithms: a process or set of rules to be followed in machine learning and problem solving
• optimised: made specially for or tailored towards
• rabbit holes: a metaphor for getting lost in link after link or video after video of content
• digital resilience: knowing when you might be at risk online and being able to get support if you experience harm
• critical reasoning skills: being able to take into account different perspectives and weighing up evidence to make a well-informed decision
• help-seeking behaviour: knowing when you are at risk and being able to ask for help
• paramount: of the highest importance
• social norm: something considered normal in society – something that everyone does
• adhering: sticking to

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Is English down the ‘skibidi toilet’?

QUICK QUIZ
1. What two things has the eSafety Commission demanded of social media platforms?
2. How many eight to 10 year olds have been found to use social media weekly?
3. What is the minimum age limit on most social media platforms?
4. Why are better age verification processes needed?
5. Why is News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign calling for the minimum age to be raised to 16?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. All about algorithms
Do you know what algorithms on social media are and how they work? Use your own knowledge (or your research skills to find out) to create an easy to understand guide for kids your age. Your purpose is to help them understand all about algorithms on social media and why it is important to know this.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Digital Technologies

2. Extension
“Tech companies should not have to worry about children online. It’s up to parents, carers and schools to protect them.”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write a very convincing letter to the Editor of Kids News on this question.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social Capability

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.