Albanese’s under 16s social media ban clutches straws and pearls

The prime minister’s “social cohesion” mantra longs for a past that isn’t coming back, writes Shaun Prescott.

Last month the Albanese government announced it will introduce legislation banning children under 16 from accessing social media. Under the legislation, social media platforms will need to “take reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place,” with the government specifying that the onus will be on platforms, not parents, carers or young people. Why does Albanese want this? One of the prime minister’s favourite phrases is “social cohesion”, which seems to imply – among other things – that he would like society to return to a pre-internet media landscape where the government only needed to contend with a handful of powerful mass communication mediums, rather than dozens (all of which host millions of voices). Social cohesion evokes a mythical past when families ate steak and veg in front of…

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APC (Digital) - 1 Issue, Xmas 2024

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