Wallace, Coalition MPs Share Bold Ideas for Kids’ Safety as Labor Misses the Mark… Again

Parliament’s staunchest advocate for social media reform has thrown down the gauntlet to big tech and the Federal Government, alongside a group of Coalition MPs and Senators who have offered 13 recommendations to the Australian Government to keep kids safe online and to hold big tech to account.

Andrew Wallace, who serves as the Deputy Chair of Parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee, yesterday tabled what he described as an ‘Alternative Report’ in response to another missed opportunity by Labor, as the historic Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society concluded its landmark inquiry.

Drawing from months of harrowing testimony, including personal accounts from eating disorder survivors and parents of child suicide victims, Mr Wallace, the member for Flinders Zoe McKenzie and their Coalition counterparts formulated 13 additional recommendations which go to the heart of the public, child and online safety issues which social media platforms continue to exacerbate.

The Sunshine Coast MP warned that social media companies could not be trusted to regulate themselves, and that, like big tobacco, it was time for the Albanese Labor Government to demonstrate the strong leadership and bold thinking to protect Australian families and their businesses.

“Social media has become a playground for predators and cyberbullies, organised crime gangs and rapacious big tech companies, who benefit from the harm and exploitation of children and the most vulnerable Australians,” Mr Wallace said.

“When confronted with the evidence of their failure to act, these companies refused to acknowledge their negligence and even complicity. Social media platforms have proven themselves arrogant, exploitative and wildly out of touch and the Australian people have had a gutful,” Mr Wallace continued, “These platforms aren’t just wilfully ignorant. They’re deluded. And the time has come for social media companies to do the right thing – or pay a heavy price.”

In her testimony on 21 June 2024, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant called out big tech companies, saying, “If you can target people through advertising with deadly precision, you can certainly target online hate or child sexual exploitation material. They say, if there’s a will, there’s a way. Well, there’s a way; we need to see more of the will.”

Mr Wallace called out the Albanese Labor Government for their delay in legislating for age verification, despite expert advice, public demand, and the Coalition’s early tabling of legislation to get it done. He asserted that age verification, age limits, a legislated duty of care, and a children’s online privacy code should form part of a multi-pronged approach to social media reform – but that more must be done.

“Our 13 additional recommendations tackle a range of issues – from child sexual exploitation to foreign interference to screen addiction and mental health. They are future-focused recommendations to empower parents, law enforcement, and the sector to protect Australian lives and livelihoods,” Mr Wallace said.

He warned: “But the reality is that this report will be out of date within a matter of years, if not months. Technology is moving faster than our clumsy and careless Labor Government, and Australians are paying the price.”