The head of the Queensland Catholic Secondary Principals Association says Snapchat, the popular digital platform mostly used by young Australians, must be one of the apps facing age restrictions. Source: News.com.au.
Snapchat may be able to dodge the Albanese Government’s plan to ban social media for kids under 16.
Snapchat lets users exchange photos, videos and messages rather than offering a posting board-type feature, such as Facebook, Instagram or X.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland confirmed yesterday that Snapchat could get around the age restrictions if it successfully argued it was a messaging service rather than a social media platform.
But Queensland Catholic Secondary Principals Association director Dan McMahon said Snapchat should not be allowed to skirt the ban.
“I’ve gotta say I’m a bit gobsmacked by that, I find that extraordinary,” Mr McMahon told television news program ACA yesterday.
“Of all the social media platforms that I deal with … Snapchat is one of the most common ones.
“Not everyone on Snapchat is an online bully, but in my experience every online bully uses Snapchat. It’s just such a great tool to weaponise harm.”
The Albanese Government is set to introduce legislation for the social media age ban next week when Parliament resumes sitting. The legislation will create a new definition of social media.
While Ms Rowland couldn’t confirm whether Snapchat would be included in the ban, she said the new definition would be “broad and robust”.
“The new definition will capture a range of services that have features that are considered harmful for young people,” she said.
“The definition will be deliberately broad and robust, to reflect the diverse range of services typically considered by the community to be social media.”
Pressed on the logic of banning some platforms and not others, she said some platforms may “present themselves in different ways”.
Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman has called on Ms Rowland to close any possible loopholes, saying the Coalition backed the Albanese Government’s social media ban but “we don’t support them going weak on exemptions.”
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Snapchat may dodge social media ban on technicality (Jessica Wang and Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer, News.com.au)
