Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think we all, in this place, want to protect our kids from online harm. So, when members opposite say that that's not the case or suggests that they're morally superior, it brings them some deep shame. I'm so happy to hear that my friend and colleague, the member for Jagajaga, is going to be chairing an inquiry.

The coalition, through this private member's motion, are taking the issue of age assurance to a dangerous extent, well beyond the recommendations of the eSafety Commission, the experts in the field. They are suggesting that all users of social search engines and other digital platforms should provide identity documents to big tech. We know this because the member himself, when chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs in 2021, recommended the introduction of identity verification for social media platforms. This has the potential to require children—minors under the age of 18—to use their birth certificates to access the internet.

The coalition's approach has serious implications for minors' privacy. It enables big tech to access our children's private identity information. I'm confident that my constituents in Solomon will not want their children providing this sort of information to big tech.

Our government continues to address these issues in a coherent and integrated way rather than by relying on dangerous, broadbrush identification processes. The government has funded an age assurance trial with the express purpose of preventing minors from accessing online pornography. We are committed to trialling technologies for age assurance that are effective, that meet community standards around use and privacy and that can be enforced.

The Albanese government has also committed to addressing family, domestic and sexual violence through the delivery of the national plan to end violence against women. This plan includes key actions that address the issues raised in this motion, including the following: addressing the role of pornography and social media in contributing to harmful sexual behaviours and reinforcing stereotyped attitudes among adults, children and young people; and building on the work of the eSafety Commissioner to better support individuals when they experience technology facilitated abuse.

The member for Fisher and the coalition, those opposite, through this motion are saying that social media companies should require all users, including minors, to input age verification or proof-of-age documentation to establish and maintain a social media account, regardless of age. This ignores the government's response to the inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence and makes online safety a partisan issue. Keeping our communities safe online in an effective way should be the priority of all members of this House.

A great example of the coherent and integrated approach of the Albanese government is the Stop it at the Start initiative. A new phase of Stop it at the Start will launch in mid-June and run until May next year. This new phase will be a counterinfluencing campaign in online spaces where violent and misogynistic context thrives to directly challenge the material in the spaces it's being viewed. The campaign aims to counter the corrosive influence of online content targeted at young adults that condones violence against women, raise awareness about a proliferation of misogynistic influencers and content and really encourage conversations within families about the damaging impact of the material.

Popularised negative and misogynistic voices are rising in support and influencing younger people, predominantly males, on digital platforms where adults and the government are not engaged. Recent research has indicated that around 25 per cent of teenage boys in Australia look up to social media personalities who perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and condone violence against women. The marked contextual shift has driven a significant knowledge and understanding gap for adults and a generational divide in how Australians feel and experience disrespect.

It's important that we have evidence based policy as part of a systematic approach to address digital safety and domestic violence in our community rather than trying to wedge it as a partisan issue.

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