36 Months campaign backs YouTube exemption from social media ban
YouTube and WhatsApp have dodged the pending age limit on social media platforms, while Snapchat has been included in the ban, among TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and Reddit.
Debate has raged in recent weeks as to whether messaging app Snapchat and video platform YouTube would be given an exemption from the law.
Communications minister, Michelle Rowland, suggested last week that Snapchat “could fall within that definition of a messaging service”, and therefore be exempt. Snapchat was included in the banned list, along with message board Reddit.
YouTube, however, dodged the bullet – a decision the 36 Months campaign agrees with, saying the goal of the law is shield children from “addictive algorithms and online bullying”.
“Using YouTube for entertainment and educational purposes I think is fair enough,” campaign director, Greg Atwells, told the ABC.
“It’s where people pretty much learn how to do things, I learnt to change the oil in my car.”
Atwells noted that “since the PM’s social media announcement, the voice of those ‘against the ban’ has risen in volume”.
Taking to Linkedin on Thursday morning, Atwells wrote: “Their message is that the ban alone is not a silver bullet to solve the safety of young people online. I agree with this sentiment. However I also believe we don’t need to oppose delaying social media access in order to say yes to better education. This vs that, or legislation vs education, is a false dichotomy. The right answer is yes to both.”
Atwells also argued against the use of the word ‘ban’.
“We don’t call it an ‘alcohol ban’ for teenagers, or a ban on smoking or driving before you get your license,” he wrote.
“Society has simply determined that there needs to be a level of developmental maturity in order to comprehend the risks and engage in these activities safely. Language matters. We’re giving something up in order to gain something better. We’re losing social media in order to find social connection. It’s only 36 Months, but it could change a lifetime.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the bill “puts the onus on social media platforms, not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place.”
The bill has bipartisan support, with opposition communications spokesman David Coleman saying “parents lie awake at night worrying about what their kids are being exposed to on Snapchat, or TikTok, or Instagram”.
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