Opinion: Moment of reckoning for out of control social media platforms

Despite a last-minute campaign against age assurance and restrictions, the voices of desperate parents won out over the big end of town, writes Andrew Wallace.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

Social media platforms have become a playground for paedophiles, cyber-bullies and organised crime gangs. This week came their moment of reckoning. Despite a last-minute campaign against age assurance and restrictions, the voices of desperate parents won out over the big end of town.

I recently spoke about Tilly Rosewarne and her brave mum, Emma Mason, who shared with parliamentarians about the cyber-bullying which led to Tilly’s suicide. During the same parliamentary inquiry, we heard from Ali Halkic who called for change after the fatal impact of cyber-bullying on his son, Allem.

And Australians remember the story of Dolly Everett. In 2018, a promising 14-year-old girl from the Northern Territory named Dolly tragically took her own life after a relentless campaign of cyberbullying. Dolly’s brave parents, Tick and Kate, have since worked hard through the #DoItForDolly initiative to raise awareness about cyberbullying.

For years, we have heard story after story of peers and predators bullying and extorting Australian children online. Yet platforms have continually refused to acknowledge their role in the harm perpetrated against young Australians.

On Wednesday, parliamentarians from across the political spectrum stood shoulder-to-shoulder with desperate parents and experts to ensure that big-tech are held to account – and to keep kids safe online.

Despite this moment of clarity and conviction – a rarity under this Albanese Government - I was disgusted to see a host of not-for-profits ignoring the expert evidence and public demand in opposing age assurance and restrictions. Through their fickle claims as to the positive impact of social media, and the risks reform poses to Australians’ privacy, these groups showed their hand.

Former Facebook executive turned whistleblower Frances Haugen warned the US Congress that social media companies, “want you to believe that the problems we’re talking about are unsolvable. They want you to believe in false choices. They want you to believe you must choose between connecting with those you love online and your personal privacy.”

I don’t buy into the false equivalency drawn by some on privacy and the digital ID by stealth. In fact, as a result of amendments sought by the Peter Dutton, David Coleman and the Coalition, social media platforms will be prohibited from asking for a digital ID, or any form of government issued ID, such as a passport or driver’s licence. We refuse to allow Labor to implement its big brother legislation – not now, not ever.

Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace

I also don’t buy into the idea that it’s imperfect so it should be rejected. Age assurance is not a panacea. It’s a tool for parents, not a substitute. Some kids may find a way around it – just as I’m sure my kids found a way to flout the rules we set in our home. However, age assurance will equip parents in the fight to slow down and deter access to inappropriate content and contact. And it lays the groundwork for a more comprehensive reform to social media and online safety.

Last week, an historic inquiry into social media handed down its report, including a comprehensive additional report by Coalition Members. In our addendum, we highlighted that our work to keep kids safe online has only just begun. We must address issues in transparency, algorithm reform, child exploitation, scams, and mental health.

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received over 40,000 reports of child sexual exploitation. In the first six months of 2024 alone, the ACCCE received 560 reports of sextortion. And that’s just those that were reported! Evidence supplied to the social media inquiry showed that the issue of exploitation, sextortion, and child abuse is rife across social media, messaging, gaming, and even professional platforms.

Yet, when asked about how they combat pornography of their sites, social media companies insisted that there was nothing to see here. When asked how many child sexual abuse material reports were made by Australian end-users, these same platforms proved adept at the art of non-answers and redirection. The obfuscation and opaque responses to questions from Australia’s Parliament proved that you simply can’t trust big tech to keep kids safe from sexual harm. Social Media platforms should be judged on their actions over the past 15-20 years, not on what they tell you they’re doing - or, what they say they’re going to do.

As Reset.Tech Australia said, “harm happens as governments wait for self-regulation and co-regulation to fail.”

It’s not just sexual exploitation, either. The Social Media Committee heard from intelligence agencies about the role of social media in amplifying and enabling foreign interference and social discord. We heard from survivors and victims’ loved ones about the impact of algorithms and targeted advertising on eating disorders, body image issues, addiction, and problem behaviours.

Predatory corporations and content creators are marketing gambling, alcohol, self-harm, and fad diets to vulnerable Australian kids – profiting big tech companies and destroying young lives and families. These Big Tech Corporations must be held to account. More work must be done. I, for one, refuse to lie down and let vested interests dominate the fight.

Andrew Wallace is Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the LNP federal Member for Fisher

Originally published as Opinion: Moment of reckoning for out of control social media platforms