00:00Well, today is a massive day for the Albanese government.
00:06Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared triumphant during a press conference at Kirribilli House
00:11in Sydney today, saying that Australia is leading the way with its social media ban
00:16and that this reform will change lives.
00:19So under the new laws starting today, a list of popular social media apps must take reasonable
00:25steps to prevent children and teenagers under the age of 16 having a social media account
00:31with their platforms.
00:32That list, as we know, includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, but that is set to grow
00:37in coming weeks.
00:39Now, the government has long voiced concerns over social media's addictive algorithms and
00:45endless scrolling and the impact that that's having on young people's brain development,
00:50their attention spans and their self-esteem.
00:52Mr Albanese framed this ban as taking back control from the big tech companies, describing
00:58it as one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced.
01:04He spoke to the ABC earlier.
01:06We expect some of the platforms have been very good at programs being removed, but it will
01:18take a little bit of time.
01:20And this is world leading, so the fact that parents can today have that conversation with
01:28their children is so important.
01:31At the G20 meeting in Johannesburg just a couple of weeks ago, there was a great deal of interest
01:37and whether it is the Americas, Asia, Europe, they are all watching at what is going on here.
01:45The fact that today we have here media from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe
01:53says a lot about the global interest that is here in this.
01:58And Australians should be proud that yes, we are leading the world, it will be difficult, there will be challenges, there will be bumps, but
02:06we are getting it done. And I'm so confident that already it's making a difference.
02:11And Sam, what's the opposition's take on this?
02:16Well, the opposition is broadly supportive of the concept of having a social media ban for under-16s,
02:22particularly given that Peter Dutton was really pushing this when he was opposition leader.
02:26But they have raised concerns around the ban's implementation under Labor.
02:32For example, they say it's been rushed and poorly managed, and they've previously taken aim at the dynamic list of age-restricted social media apps,
02:40saying it's unclear which apps are in and which apps are out.
02:43The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, has also raised some concerns around kids' mental health
02:49as they adjust to life without social media,
02:52saying that the government should really supplement its social media ban with extra funding for mental health organisations to help out those kids.
03:00Having those conversations, I want the government to make more investment into the mental health support for young people,
03:07particularly during this time.
03:10It is a time that kids will be struggling,
03:12so hopefully the Prime Minister might make an announcement that there's some funding going to these very important organisations.
03:18Now, it's worth noting that the Albanese government has said the ban's rollout will be clunky.
03:25It's not as if everybody under the age of 16 had their social media account magically wiped overnight,
03:32and already some young people who have evaded the ban have been commenting on the Prime Minister's official TikTok account,
03:38saying things like,
03:39I'm still here and your ban didn't work.
03:41But those kids might not be laughing for too much longer as tech companies slowly work their way through
03:47and identify more and more young people who shouldn't be having their social media accounts on their platforms anymore.
03:53So today is day one, and the world is watching closely to see how it all unfolds.
Comments