Charlotte O’Brien's parents join call to raise social media age

The parents of 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien have called for a big change in social media laws after her death rocked the country.

The parents of Sydney schoolgirl Charlotte O’Brien have joined a campaign to raise the age limit for social media after online bullying led to the 12-year-old’s death by suicide.

Mat Howard and Kelly O’Brien appeared on Sunday’s 60 Minutes to ask “how many more Charlottes do we need to lose” before action was taken to protect kids from harm.

Asked if she believed Charlotte would still be a alive if social media was off limits to young children, Ms O’Brien replied: “Absolutely”.

Charlotte O'Brien’s death rocked the country.

Charlotte was in Year 7 student at Santa Sabina College. Pictures: Supplied

“My personal opinion. Giving our kids these phones, we’re giving them weapons, we’re giving them the world at their fingertips,” the grieving mother said.

Charlotte’s death caused widespread heartache after her story was revealed on Ben Fordham’s 2GB breakfast radio show in September.

It was revealed her parents had pleaded with her school to address “friendship issues” she was facing, and Charlotte had asked for her tale to be shared in a last despairing note.

Mr Howard told 60 Minutes that despite her “ongoing struggles” the last two weeks of Charlotte’s life were “the best two weeks that I can remember with her”.

“And we thought we were really turning the corner,” he said.

Australia’s social media laws could be about to change. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

“You know she’d come home from school that day and she’d had a great day. Kelly had made her favourite dinner that night.

“And that night she skipped off to bed, literally skipped. And we never saw her again.”

Her family revealed a “completely distressed” Charlotte spoke to a friend on her phone the night she died, and shared messages she had been sent online.

“So we can’t say exactly what we’ve been told, but what I will tell you is what we’ve been told is some of the worst words that anybody should have to read, let alone a 12-year-old girl,” Mr Howard said.

Charlotte’s parents had been strict with her social media usage and confiscated the schoolgirl’s phone when she broke rules they set out, Mr Howard said.

Mum Kelly and dad Matt at Charlotte’s funeral. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

She had only been allowed access to messaging app Snapchat back on her phone for about a week before she died, her parents said.

Ms O’Brien said she saw Charlotte’s phone lying on the ground of her bedroom in the moments before she discovered her daughter’s body.

“I just kept saying to the police that morning, ‘Where did she get the knowledge and

the means? Where did she get the knowledge and the means?’,” she said.

“I couldn’t wrap my head around it, and he (the police officer) just said to me, ‘This is the

age of information. She just needed to Google it’.

“And for me, I’m so devastated by that because I gave her that phone.”

Charlotte O’Brien died by suicide on September 9, 2024.

Charlotte’s parents have travelled to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ahead of legislation to raise the age of using social media from 13 to 16.

“I intend to say, ‘Please, Mr. Albanese, raise the age of social media to 16, because 36

months could change a lifetime’. That’s what I’m going to say,” Ms O’Brien said.

Mr Howard said: “Charlotte was not the first and she’s already not the last. And this will continue to happen unless we make the right decisions.”

The controversial bill to raise the age on social media platforms from is set to go before Australia’s federal parliament this week, with support from both major parties.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese has said he is “calling time” on social media and the impact it has on the mental health of young people.

But not everyone is convinced this would work, including Western Sydney University academic Amanda Third. She is among 140 Australian and international academics who have signed a letter opposing the bill.

“Children will find their way online and they’re going to find their way online into darker spaces than the ones that are already there,” Professor Third told 60 Minutes.

Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland accepted kids “invariably find a way around things”.

“But again, I don’t see that as an argument for doing nothing in this space,” she said.

“What we are proposing to do here really is world-leading, there is no off-the-shelf product here.”

Originally published as Charlotte O’Brien's parents join call to raise social media age