The Hon. David Coleman MP
Shadow Minister for Communications
Federal Member for Banks
7 November 2024
Subject: Tech platforms must not be exempted from social media ban
E&OE…
Kieran Gilbert: Let’s bring in the Opposition’s spokesperson for Communications, David Coleman, live in the studio. This is heading in the direction that you’ve been arguing for months, isn’t it? You’d welcome this.
David Coleman: We do welcome it, Kieran. So back in June, Peter Dutton stood up in Sydney and said that within 100 days of being elected we would introduce an age limit of 16 for social media. So it shouldn’t have taken as long as it has. All the issues with a trial that still hasn’t started, etcetera. But it is good that the PM has got to that point today. Now what we want to make sure is the legislation is strong and that it doesn’t have exemptions or wriggle room for companies like Instagram or TikTok or Snapchat. We need a simple clear system that clearly captures those big tech platforms. And we also want Kieran, not only for the legislation …
Kieran Gilbert: You couldn’t have, I mean, just to pick up there, you couldn’t have an exemption for Instagram or TikTok. They’re some of the key culprits?
David Coleman: Well 100%. I mean the Government’s talked about exemptions if the platforms comply with some as yet unspecified steps to make themselves safer. But you can’t make Instagram safe for kids. You can’t make Snapchat safe for kids. You can’t make TikTok safe for kids. It’s impossible. So that’s what we want to make sure that there’s no exemptions like that. The other thing is we don’t want the legislation to just be introduced this year. We want it to pass the Parliament this year, and we will facilitate that because there are millions of Australians who have been waiting for a long time for this legislation. There are Australian families who are at wit’s end dealing with this issue of social media and the impact it’s having on kids. So let’s get this legislation into the Parliament. Let’s vote on it in the House. Let’s vote on it in the Senate. Now we will work constructively with the Government in the next couple of weeks, but let’s get it done this year.
Kieran Gilbert: Get it through, and then how soon would you like it up in the…
David Coleman: Well, you do need some sort of implementation period. We’ll have a look at that as we talk to the Government. But the most important..
Kieran Gilbert: As soon as possible.
David Coleman: Of course. And the most important thing is we don’t want the Government just simply to introduce the legislation that we’ll come back to it at some point in the future. Let’s pass it through the Parliament this year and let’s make sure there is no prospect of exemptions for companies like Instagram or TikTok or Snapchat.
Kieran Gilbert: Yeah, that’s fair. Do you expect some blowback from some of the big tech?
David Coleman: Probably. But who cares? I mean, they have had more than a decade to sort this issue out. They have shown a flagrant disregard for the mental health of Australian kids. They don’t care. And we as a society have to stand up and say, enough, this is over. That’s what Peter Dutton did months and months ago. We welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has now got on board with this. But we are concerned about this talk of exemptions and we don’t want that in the legislation.
Kieran Gilbert: On an issue. I mean, I think you’re right. There’ll be many families, parents will say, thankfully, finally, this is great and like to be empowered in that sense. There will be some who say, is it realistic? Can you do this? Is it practical? What do you say to that?
David Coleman: Yeah, I think it’s important to acknowledge that nothing will ever be perfect. So will some people get around it? Yes, they probably will. Will it be infinitely better than what we have today? Absolutely. Because today, if you’re seven years old and you go and Tik Tok and say you’re 25, it’s all fine. Tik Tok is not required to do anything. When we move towards a system where there’s an obligation on those companies, the obligation needs to be clear. It can’t be a sort of wishy-washy obligation, and that’s something we’ve got to make sure the Government gets right as well in the next couple of weeks. Clear obligation. No exemptions for the big platforms and we get this done before Christmas.
Kieran Gilbert: It could be interesting watching Elon Musk’s reaction because he hasn’t been to positive about some of these restrictions and now he’s very close to the new president, the incoming president. Is it, could it cause some upset?
David Coleman: Look, I wouldn’t have thought so, Kieran. What responsibility do we have, which is a higher responsibility than to protect children from things that are very dangerous for them? Short answer is, none, there is no responsibility higher than that. The companies have not dealt with this issue. To the contrary, they have been completely negligent in their conduct on this issue. And so, we need to say as a country, that’s it, you had your chance, you didn’t do it and now we’re going to impose these rules.
Kieran Gilbert: David Coleman, thanks for staying in touch on this one. Appreciate it.
David Coleman: Thanks Kieran.