OK. Do it.
They won’t do it. It would prove that this was legislation done on the run with not much thought.
Leo pointed out the consultation was not done before the legislation was passed, and is happening after the fact. Why bother?
You can listen to it here - it was at the start of the show.
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I’ve been watching this whole debarkle, and I’ve decided to drop my two cents, growing up in the Digital Age (can’t wait to say to my kids someday Back in my day we had YouTube and twitch and the works) I know for a fact that kids use the internet to stay connected. What happens when they’re isolated from how the rest of the world in terms of society online. Especially with video games on the rise. I know many MANY fandoms stream live events such as game awards, announcements and Minecraft Live, which attracts a huge figure online will no longer be accessible.
I think that what the Government should focus on getting harmful content off the internet, not just put a blanket ban on it.
Band-Aids are not a fix for a larger problem.
In short, we’re in a world where the internet is ever-relied on and blocking it will push kids growing up to be different culturally to the rest of the world, being cut off. This ban is reminding me of WIN. It’s not the 2000s anymore. You can’t just think up a 2000s based solution and call it a day. I can personally say that banning Social Media will not do much, if anything.
The downside is, parents will clap and cheer as in their eyes as they’re not affected and “Oh goodie, the government made my role easier!”
As Helen Lovejoy said, “Will somebody please think of the CHILDREN.”
Rant over - this is something that I do feel strongly about growing up in this age and (luckily) not being affected by the blanket ban.
Completely unrelated note: If the socials are banned, does this mean Gen Alpha can get their News Delivered Differently again as there’s an audience for it 
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I’ve been following the UK news and it’s unbelievably ugly over there with their government now trying to shut down any debate on this topic by saying anyone who opposes online age verification is “on the side of predators and pedophiles”
Get a VPN or don’t - I don’t particularly care, BUT, despite the claims that VPN providers make, the arent any more secure or private:
Yes, you do, stop being melodramatic - you’re an educator for peat’s sake, a profession from which I’d expect a better level of reasoning in the discussion.
You’re comparing classified content with unclassified (often unstructured) content for starters, which can vary depending on the user. Capability also exists to lock out or restrict access to classified content.
I was referring to level of harmful content that is currently in M15/MA15 rated stuff. They can walk into a cinema or load it up on Netflix, but can’t see use social media. They may as well just move the M ratings up to 16 and bring it into line. But they won’t.
Also, what the hell does my job have to do with any sort of reasoning? Trust me, there are plenty of people in our profession whose judgement should be questioned. The Peter principle comes into effect here.
The only way to protect kids is for parents to step up. As a profession, we’re sick and tired of being surrogate parents.
As for the locks - that’s if the parents can be bothered put the locks on. Again, parents need to step up.
The smarter kids will work out any protection mechanism, and pass that knowledge along.
The ban isn’t going to work. If the kid wants an account, they’ll get an account. They’ll find a way around it. They shouldn’t, but they will.
If they were truly serious about getting rid of harmful content, they’d make the platforms remove it. But they won’t.
Thank you for explaining that regulations are better than banning. I could compare regulations that would make platforms less harmful to those we applied to cars over the years to make driving less harmful such as Mandatory Seatbelts, Airbags, Crumple Zones and the .05 alcohol limit and RBTs which helped decrease our country’s road toll in 50 years.
Speaking of getting around things, as a kid I watched South Park despite me being too young for it.
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6-part queer coming-of-age series Videoland, set in a 1990s video store, will launch internationally (except Australia and NZ) on YouTube on Friday, August 1.
The article also said that it’s available in Australia and NZ on Netflix.