Rural Health Alliance says broader action needs to be taken

The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) has welcomed the Australian Government's child online safety reform, but said 'the horse has bolted' without broader action taken. The NRHA said the implementation of the reform is an importnat first signal that the Government is willing to act on digital harm, 'but that is where the comfort stops, unless this is only the first step of a suite of changes.' "We all wish for young people to be safe online, but banning under 16s from social media risks pushing them into unregulated spaces, cutting them off from support networks and placing the burden of policing technology onto families that are already stretched," chief executive of NRHA Susi Tegen said. "Today's legislative step is welcome, but it must not be the full stop, it must be the first comma. "Real protection comes from regulating platforms, not punishing children. "Build safety in, don't legislate absence." According to Ms Tegen the NRHA maintains a need for a different approach, one that protects children and their mental health without isolating them. "The real issue isn't teenagers, it is the platforms designed to harvest attention, amplify harm and escape accountability," Ms Tegen said. "Rural children in particular, often already isolated due to their postcode, rely greatly on social media for communication, expression and to get involved." Leading child and youth advocates and parents across the globe have been warning for several years that holistic measures need to be in place according to NRHA. "While a welcome start, the under 16s legislative ban is a band aid on its own," Ms Tegen said. "Children accessing social media are being drawn in by unsafe tech platforms that utilise manipulative algorithims. "It is a problem that has already galloped ahead, unless stronger system responses follow in rapid succession." Ms Tegen said while the ban highlights public concerns about exploitation, bullying, harmful body image content and targeted commercial manipultion, the core issue is due to a lack of tech corporate responsibility, with young people having already migrated to alternative platforms, VPN enabled tools and encrypted spaces that sit outside the regulation, ahead of the ban that came into effect on December 10. "We acknowledge that this legislation shows political intent, but the horse has bolted," Ms Tegen said. "Unless the government rapidly follows with technological platform duty of care laws, mandatory safety by design settings, digital literacy in schools that also involves support for parents, and youth accessible complaint pathways, children will remain exposed and manipulated, just less visable." The NRHA is calling for systemic protection instead of symbolic bans involving legal accountability for tech companies, independent oversight and enforcement, digital wellbeing education for children and parents as well as specialist approaches for rural and remote youth, who rely more heavily on online spaces for connection and support. "The NRHA echoes concerns from parents, and warns that without these measures, the reform risks being seen as political theatre, rather than a genuine structural change," Ms Tegen said. "Greater legislative protection and a more holistic approach is neccessary to protect rural and remote youth from further isolation and prioritise mental well being."