Social Media Is a Literal Lifeline for Many Kids. Don't Ban Them From Using It
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Age verification system
16 min read
The article mentions age verification requirements as a key mechanism of the ban - this topic covers the technical methods, privacy concerns, and global debates around online age verification systems
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Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
13 min read
As US lawmakers seek to replicate Australia's approach, understanding COPPA - the existing US framework for children's online safety - provides important comparative context for the regulatory landscape
Over the past week, calls for mass surveillance and censorship have reached a fever pitch.
On Wednesday, Australia’s highly controversial social media ban, which blocked millions of users from large swaths of the internet, went into effect. So far, it has had devastating consequences.
Countless adults who are unable or unwilling to link their government ID to their online activity or comply with age verification requirements another way can’t access major social platforms; calls to a youth suicide prevention help line reportedly up as teens were cut off from their online support networks and communities; kids began downloading unregulated and potentially more dangerous apps en masse; and it was revealed that a primary advocacy group behind the ban’s passage was developing an AI tool to track students and was funded and co-staffed by a firm that was simultaneously making gambling ads.
Despite the chaos and abject harm the law in Australia has wrought, US lawmakers are eagerly seeking to replicate it.
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