Three parents who lost children to suicide have told the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee that social media platforms are still putting children at risk, despite Australia’s under-16 social media ban.
The committee is considering the Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill, which doubles the maximum civil penalties for platforms that violate the ban from $49.5 million to $99 million (US$35 million to $70 million) and gives the eSafety Commissioner more power to get evidence from third parties like app stores and age assurance providers.
Mia Bannister’s 14-year-old son Ollie and Emma Mason’s 15-year-old daughter Tilly took their lives after relentless online bullying, while Wayne Holdsworth’s son Mac committed suicide at 17 after being targeted by online sexual extortion.
All three have set up organisations to tackle the issue of social media harms—Ollie’s Echo, Tilly’s Wish, and Smacktalk, respectively.
A ‘Poisoned Chalice’ Handed to Children
Holdsworth compared the under-16 ban to seatbelt and anti-smoking laws, saying legislation designed to change behaviour takes time to be accepted, but eventually people realise that it exists to benefit them.
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But, having “handed a poisoned chalice to our children” in the form of social media, which is dangerous and has had a significant negative impact, Holdsworth said the government needed to do more to minimise the harm in the meantime.
“Social media companies have yet to pay a price for how they have damaged a generation of young Australians,” he said. “We assumed that $49.5 million was a significant amount to fine them. It wasn’t. Perhaps maybe $100 million is.
Holdsworth also noted that tech giants are monetising children and have little commercial incentive to restrict their access to these dangerous platforms.
“So that implies that their driver is money, obviously. So we must target their driver to get them to comply. Target their money, their bottom line, their share price,” he said.
“They have shown that they do not have a moral compass; it’s a badge of honour for them. How dare they say that social media does not damage children? Surely that defines their arrogance?”
Parents Support Giving eSafety Commissioner Greater Powers
Bannister also supported increased penalties and the expansion of the eSafety Commissioner’s powers, saying the office needed greater investigative powers, including access to documents from social media companies and age-assurance providers.
“We cannot keep expecting parents and children to carry responsibility for systems that they did not design, and we cannot allow delay, loopholes, or inadequate enforcement to become the advantage of billion-dollar technology companies,” she said.
“We need to ask: Are we going to require another Senate inquiry every time the technology changes, or a new loophole appears, or do we give the regulator the appropriate powers and flexibility to respond as the digital environment evolves?
“What matters now is ensuring these laws have teeth, that eSafety has the power it needs, and that platforms are compelled to comply.”
Parents Say Social Media Ban Not a Failure
“This needs to be seen as a failure of the social media companies to take reasonable steps, not a failure of this law,” she said.
“Australia’s response to online harm must continue to combine regulation with prevention through education, digital literacy, early intervention and community awareness. These approaches are complementary, not competing,” they said.
She said there was no “fine issuing button” when it came to forcing social media firms to comply with the ban.
