Tech giants have been accused of taking the moral high ground after arguing a social media age ban for teenagers under 16 years of age would do more harm than good, while also ignoring the wishes of grieving parents who have advocated for a ban following the suicide of their daughters.
Fronting an inquiry into the proposed legislation, which will likely be passed this week, Liberal senator Sarah Henderson accused Digi managing director Sunita Bose of making an “outrageous statement” after she said she opposed the law due to concerns it would “compromise the safety of young people”.
“It’s my job at Digi to work with the industry and with the government and with the community to propose solutions to really challenging online issues that we face,” said Ms Bose, who head the industry group which represents social media giants like Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter.
Senator Henderson, who accused Ms Bose of “trying to protect the big tech giants” also asked Ms Bose to “please explain” her position to the parents of Charlotte O’Brien, 12, and Olivia Evans, 15, whose parents have lobbied for a social media age limit.
Charlotte’s parents Kelly and Mat said their daughter’s mental health severely deteriorated after she was relentlessly bullied on social media before her death in September this year.
Olivia died in April 2023, following a two-year battle with anorexia, with her father Rob Evans stating she was able to access toxic content on Instagram which fuelled her eating disorder.
“Grieving families … have been campaigning for social media age limits. Can you please explain to those parents and to other parents who’ve lost their children why you are right and they are wrong?” asked Senator Henderson.
While Ms Bose acknowledged the “tragic events”, she said a wide-ranging ban could risk children going to “darker, less safe, less regulated online spaces”.
“These are absolutely tragic events, and as a parent of two myself, I cannot imagine anything worse,” she said.
“We must remain focused on how we protect young people online without cutting them off from the connection and the mental health support that previous witnesses have discussed today, we do this by teaching young people how to safely navigate online spaces, how to seek help.”