Social Media and Australian Society

The Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) has provided a submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society (Committee). 

Misinformation and disinformation

The Global Risks Report 2024 declared that misinformation and disinformation would be the ‘most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years’. Misinformation and disinformation may harm several human rights. 

Journalists have an ethical responsibility to report news honestly and accurately, and the media has an important role to play in countering misinformation and disinformation. 

However, the dominance and market structure of digital platforms risk pressuring news producers to make ethical concessions to ensure their articles and stories are ‘recommended’ to readers. 

This may undermine journalists’ unique role in Australian society as watchdogs of truth – debunking misinformation and disinformation online.

Child access to social media

The primary human rights treaty enshrining children’s rights is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Australia ratified in 1990. 

The CRC requires that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration in all aspects of the digital environment. It is critical that best interests considerations are not based on assumptions by adults about what is in the interests of children, and that children’s views are actively considered.

There have been several proposals to ban social media access for children of a minimum age of between 14 and 16 years of age. These age restriction models seek to protect children from social media content that is not age-appropriate by restricting their access altogether.

The Commission acknowledges the growing research evidencing the negative impacts of social media on children and young people, and agrees that there is a need for protective policy responses. However, the greater onus should be placed on social media platforms to better protect children from harm - instead of imposing age restrictions.

 Recommendations 

The Commission's submission makes four submissions from child-access to content curation. To learn more about these recommendations, please read the full submission.