The prime minister has accused “arrogant” social media companies of ignoring the legitimate concerns of parents for their children, who he said are suffering from widespread angst due to the use of online platforms such as Facebook and TikTok.
Anthony Albanese's comments on Saturday follow claims by social media company Meta at a parliamentary hearing on Friday, when the company claimed social media offers “tremendous benefits” to children.
'Arrogant': Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is lashing out at social media giants. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald
The Prime Minister also stated that social media platforms should pay media outlets for their content, which appears heavily on many platforms, after Meta said it would not renew its commercial agreements, worth about 70 million dollars, with local publishers.
Albanese said social media companies were deliberately ignoring the harm their platforms caused to children's mental health, as well as the risk of grooming and abuse.
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“It just shows how out of touch, arrogant and dismissive they are of the legitimate concerns that all parents express about this activity,” Albanese told Sunrise program
“[Parents] he'll be desperate for these social media giants to say, “Nothing to see here, no problem.” Well, there is a problem, and they have to “confess” their responsibility.
“Every parent knows that social media can have a detrimental impact on young people's mental health, in social exclusion, in the bullying that can happen online, in the grooming that can also happen in a dangerous online.”
Albanese also said social media platforms were not addressing the spread of hate speech on their platforms, which he said posed a risk to social harmony.
