BATTLING BIG TECH
Thousands of miles away from Silicon Valley, Australia has been leading the charge in efforts to rein in the dominance of Big Tech. Separate proposed legislation aimed at cracking down on digital misinformation has even drawn ire from Elon Musk, who last week labelled the government “fascists”. (The government has sued Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, over a violent video of a terrorist attack but lost in court.)
The nation has also been engaged in a years-long battle to force tech titans to pay for news content. At a time when other jurisdictions have struggled with taking on such powerful companies, Australia’s multi-faceted attacks are admirable.
But research has shown that age limits for social media aren’t the most effective way to protect teens from its potential harms. Young people have shown remarkable prowess for finding workarounds – even those under the age of 13 whom most platforms already prohibit.
The American Psychological Association has argued that using social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to teens, but strict age limits ignore individual differences in adolescents’ maturity levels. In other words, turning 16 doesn’t instantly make you more competent at navigating the digital world than a mature 14-year-old.
The process of enforcing broad age verification online raises a slew of privacy concerns, ranging from how identifying information about young users could be stored to cutting off their ability to freely browse the internet while maintaining digital anonymity.
Completely shutting off access to digital communities can also sever lifelines for some young people, especially those from marginalised groups. TikTok, in particular, has emerged as a popular platform for Indigenous Australians, allowing them a space where they share everything from budget-friendly recipes to relatable responses to racism. Indigenous youth in remote areas who may not see their stories reflected in traditional media can feel less isolated. LGBTQ+ advocates in Australia have raised similar concerns about a potential loss of connections for vulnerable queer teens if the ban takes effect.
More broadly, tech researchers warn that excluding young people from social media platforms will just drive them to darker, even less regulated corners of the web.
From: channelnewsasia
Business News
