On Thursday, 4 September eSafety published summaries of its community consultation on social media for under-16s, revealing teens view certain aspects of social media as ‘not age-appropriate, mentally draining or just straight up dangerous’.
eSafety’s publication follows the release of the final report from the Australian Government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial, and goes hand-in-hand with eSafety’s ongoing formal engagement with companies in the lead-up to minimum age obligations commencing on 10 December.
While a number of platforms have already been named as likely to be age-restricted, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the self-assessment tool would help companies determine if any of their services may be excluded under the Minister for Communications’ recently tabled rules.
Over the past three months, eSafety has held consultations with more than 340 participants representing more than 160 organisations.
Participants identified a wide range of harms linked to social media use by young people, including disrespect, cyberbullying, racism, gender-based violence, nudity, harmful body image content, and online grooming.
They felt that restricting access for under-16s could help reduce exposure to these risks and promote positive mental health and wellbeing among young people.
Responses include:
• The age restrictions can be a barrier that prevents young people from exposure to inappropriate content.
• Social media can be pretty full on, especially for younger ones. There’s a lot of stuff that’s not age-appropriate, mentally draining or just straight up dangerous.
• As a young man, I’ve been exposed to a lot of explicit photos and videos through social media. This generation of young men is being exploited by being fed harmful content about masculinity, and I think we are seeing impacts, especially with violence against women and girls.
• It might help stop bullying or make it less normalised.
• Younger people won’t be exposed to photos that show harmful body image and unattainable body standards, they will be protected from seeing that on social media.
• Grooming and sexual assault. There are lots of children who do experience that from social media and being able to take that away would be big benefit.
• It might encourage young people to socialise with each other and meet in person.
• A benefit might be less time spent on social media. You can waste so much time scrolling on social media taking away from other activities.
eSafety has also written to a comprehensive list of technology companies, including Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok, to clarify their position on whether they consider their platforms to be age restricted, and outline practical steps they can take now to be ready for the obligation coming into effect.
The Commissioner outlined her expectation that companies focus on the following key steps, including:
Preparing to find and de-activate accounts held by Australian under 16s.
Providing clear, age-appropriate communications to those affected, including how to download their information and where to seek support.
Taking reasonable steps to prevent children from evading restrictions by altering their account settings before 10 December.
Ensuring reporting and review systems for underage accounts are effective, accessible, transparent and timely.
Scoping and implementing age assurance measures across the user journey.
The Commissioner also made it clear to platforms that self-declaration of age will not, on its own, be enough to constitute reasonable steps.
“We know 95 per cent of Australian 10- to 15-year-olds currently hold at least one social media account,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“Companies must detect and de-activate these accounts from 10 December, and provide account holders with appropriate information and support before then.
“Australians have told us they want strong, practical protections that keep children safe without compromising privacy or fairness. We have listened, and this feedback is shaping the guidance we are putting in place for industry.
“This is the time for companies to start mobilising and planning for implementation, with further regulatory guidance to be available soon. Children, parents and carers are counting on services to deliver on their obligations and prepare their young users and the trusted adults in their lives for this monumental change.”
