Social media ban: Crossbenchers, Nationals MP sound alarm over ‘rushed’ ban on under-16s

Jacqui Lambie has blasted the Government for putting up a “ghost bill” to ban under-16s from social media and urged Peter Dutton not to fall for it, as Coalition backbenchers were set to air concerns during a meeting with colleagues.

The independent Tasmanian senator said helping young people grappling with the mental health and other harms arising from social media was too important to rush and risk not getting right.

Parliament is expected to pass a bill requiring companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook and X to keep young Australians off their platforms.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton initially proposed a version of the age limit in June and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later followed suit.

But the laws were only put to Parliament last Thursday and a committee given just five days to examine the world-leading legislation.

Nearly 15,000 people made submissions to that snap inquiry.

Senator Lambie said there was no reason for the rush to pass the laws this week.

“For the sake of our kids, for the sake of what is happening to them because of these social media platforms, wouldn’t we take a little bit longer to get this actually right?” she said.

“We want this done properly so we can stop losing those young lives, and quite frankly, the social media companies, once again, are getting off scot-free.

“They’re not being held accountable for this. This is just rubbish. This is just a ghost bill that’s not going to do anything in the way it is right now ... and I’ll be very, very surprised if Peter Dutton falls for this.”

Crossbench colleague David Pocock said he agreed with the principle of protecting young Australians but the process “doesn’t cut it” and he still had concerns about how it would work.

Nationals backbenchers Matt Canavan and Keith Pitt have also aired concerns about the rushed process publicly and other Coalition MPs who spoke with The West said the plan needed more security to make sure it would work.

But they conceded Mr Dutton had made a captain’s call on the social media ban and would ultimately stare down those with concerns.

Senator Canavan said he was yet to decide whether he would cross the floor if he was still unhappy with the legislation.

Others thought it was more likely the handful of dissidents would abstain from the vote rather than outright oppose it.