FlippGen welcomes device-level protections for children, but warns against a ban on social media

FlippGen welcomes the Prime Minister's announcement calling on Apple, Google and other tech companies to activate built-in protections that prevent children from accessing, taking or sending sexually explicit images on their devices. For too long, tech companies have had the tools to act and have not used them. The government is right to push back on that and we are glad to see the Government using its leverage to push the industry to do more.

We are pleased to see the onus being put on platforms and tech companies to make the digital world safer for young people. It is completely right that if platforms can not prove that they are safe, they should be fined, and punished. 

However, we also have some concerns. 

Firstly, we believe the Government should act now, instead of simply giving a warning. The Prime Minister has said that "This is not an impossible challenge", and he believes that tech companies "can solve it". Tech companies could have done this years ago, and the Online Safety Act was an opportunity to require exactly this.

It is also disappointing to see this accompanied by talk of broader platform bans. Our Digital Rebels, and other young people we have spoken to, are clear on this: blanket bans are not the answer. They drive behaviour underground, remove young people's access to communities and information that genuinely support them, and are implemented without their input or consent. The evidence backs them up, with over 60% of Australian children still using social media after their law banning social media for under 16s.

We will be watching this legislation closely. We want to work with the government to ensure that whatever is introduced is genuinely guided by the voices of young people.