Social media ban not worth the paper it’s written on

Senator Tammy Tyrrell, Independent Senator for Tasmania, weighs in on new laws that will ban young people under 16 from social media platforms.

"Labor and the Liberals gave this social media ban policy as much thought as they probably give to what underwear they put on in the morning. Zero.

"The bill isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. It’s not a policy, it’s an idea for Labor and the Liberals to win votes at the election and not worry about the consequences of implementing their poorly thought out ban.

"The debate around the social media ban and the misinformation bill show just how important it is for better digital literacy education. We should be teaching kids in school how to navigate the online world, rather than taking it away from them altogether.

"As a parent, I tried to give my kids everything they needed to make informed decisions for themselves. Not decide things for them. That’s the way we should be approaching this social media ban and better digital literacy education."

Senator Tyrrell opposed the bill in the Senate last night.