In a piece on The Guardian, details have been shared regarding the Albanese government planning to impose a minimum age for teenagers accessing social media and “other relevant digital platforms”.
The only problem is that even when clarified, the term “other relevant digital platforms” remains woefully unexplained.
“Social media AND OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORMS”
— Leonardo Puglisi (@Leo_Puglisi6) September 9, 2024
Anyone know what those are? Because the PM has endorsed banning YouTube for under-16s before https://t.co/0bREGXqNDU pic.twitter.com/28vcgEioAn
The explanation comes with a quote from Albanese himself, lamenting the speed of technology and platforms in the modern world, saying:
We know that technology moves fast, No government is going to be able to protect every child from every threat – but we have to do all we can. Parents are worried sick about this. We know they’re working without a map – no generation has faced this challenge before.
The breakdown then explains that South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has outlined a legislative framework for establishing a minimum age for using social media and “other relevant digital platforms” – understood to mean gaming.
But gaming is a broad term – and a lot of the supplementary documentation keep referring to web platforms or simply states ‘other digital platforms’ – so are they banning kids from Roblox, or from using eBay?
@Leo_Puglisi6 from the Guardian article on this:
> The Albanese government’s move will be aimed at social media and “other relevant digital platforms” – understood to mean gaming.https://t.co/g3PbJzNAqq
— Perri (@PerriW2345) September 9, 2024
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Frustratingly, looking over more than a dozen discussion hubs for this proposed piece of law, I was unable to nail down whether the intention is to wholly ban kids off Xbox Live. Most of the talking points are intrinsically referencing social media specifically, with a dramatically vague handwave towards ‘other platforms’ as a theoretical ‘other benefit’. This drills down to a very specific document drafted by former High Court Chief Justice Robert French, which lays out the concept of forcing Social Media companies to require parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds to use their platforms. There is even a move to instate fines and penalties if a company is found to have not enforced such a system.
But still, nothing concrete about kicking ‘the kids’ off of Roblox. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has been largely involved with the initiative, and openly names platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – but not Nintendo, PlayStation or Xbox.
So, are we facing a total Australia-wide extinction of 14 year olds from your Call of Duty lobbies? It’s hard to say, but it also seems that the focus is more on Social Media and ‘adjacent platforms’ that serve as a concerning influence on children. Realistically the greater targeting of the piece is to loop in parents when it comes to children accessing these platforms, so even if the pre-teen Roblox community is affected, it is far more likely that Billy will just need to get Mum to sign off on making an account.
For the most part I am leaning towards this simply being very poorly worded, and with the internet dissection machine already warming up, I wouldn’t be surprised if a proper statement is offered sometime soon.
More on this as it develops.
Shoutouts to The Guardian
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
