Thursday, 28 November 2024

Information regulation

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:36): The growing Libertarian movement has won the battle against the federal government’s MAD – misinformation and disinformation – bill, but free speech continues to be under attack. In Victoria we face another battle against the equally mad social cohesion laws; however, the proposed social media ban for children under 16 is not just a bad idea, it is an insult. The federal government, with our state government’s support, is effectively accusing people whose kids are on social media of being bad parents.

I have children under 16 who I allow to access social media in a limited way. Like other parents, I know what my kids can handle. I know that not every interaction will be positive, just as it is in the playground, but all of this is an essential part of learning to deal with people. The proposed ban also insults our kids by assuming the worst about them. My kids used social media to relieve the terrible isolation forced upon them during the pandemic. They use it to follow popular science YouTubers and learn about a wide variety of topics. My children also use it to play games with their friends. There is nothing wrong with any of this; these are normal activities for a teenager. Like many thousands of Australian families, I will also be looking at virtual private networks and Starlink if these laws do pass.