The social media ban for people under the age of 16 represents the abject failure of policy, action and vision. It is a failure we are poised to repeat. At least we have something of an excuse with social media. Its popularity and rapid evolution has resulted in a world where the ability to even define social media is impossible.
This isn’t a law that impacts teens – it impacts every person who wants to use social media.
A mistake we are going to repeat
The problem is that no one is looking ahead. We are seeing the issues and challenges playing out with another technology. AI services are becoming virtual friends and counsellors. There are reports that AI is providing vulnerable people with instructions for self-harm.
Sound familiar? These are the same issues that drove the debate that led the government to its social media ban. Will the government and the electorate learn anything from the social media ban? Will the government somehow try to regulate access to AI services?
If trying to decide if something is or isn’t social media was challenging, how will it do the same with AI – a technology that is developing at a rate that is almost impossible to track? How can AI’s use be regulated when it is deeply embedded into operating systems?
Generative AI is not that different to the algorithms social media uses to feed us content we like. I discussed this with a counsellor who highlighted the problem. They said someone ‘talking’ with an AI will have their own views reinforced. They will get the advice they want and not the advice they need.
AI is far more challenging
The government might mandate age verification when visiting a website offering AI services. Doing the same at the operating system level is an entirely different technical challenge.
So, how do we solve this problem?
We need to reframe the question. Access to social media for 13–16-year-olds is not the problem. The problem is that for almost two decades, successive governments have failed to create an effective content regulation regime. They failed to put the onus on the content distributors to ensure they comply with some rules. Meta, Twitter/X, Snap and others could have been directed to comply with content regime like those in place for TV and movies.
There is an obligation on parents to have some greater engagement on their children’s social media use. Apple and Google provide tools for parents to set time limits on the use of social media apps and block websites based on their content. But education around how to use these tools has been lacking and there is a reticence by many parents to place limits on their children.
As a former teacher, I really don’t want to make the work of educators harder. But perhaps there’s an opportunity to look at how schools can help young people make better decisions about how they use online services. That doesn’t have to be a special course but by integrating smarter use of technologies and teaching how tools like social media and AI work as part of existing curricula we can guide young people ot make better decisions about the technology they use.
Will we learn from the failure of how we handled social media when it comes to the burgeoning use of AI? Or will we get to 2028 and try to mandate an AI ban?
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.