The Australian Prime Minister - Anthony Albanese - was once asked by a radio host what he would do if he was dictator - he said he would ban all social media.
And lets note that the ALP government is very fast and snappy to ban social media, very slow to do important things like:
- ban money laundering in real estate
- ban gambling advertising
And very quick to:
- approve massive new coal mines
- approve massive new natural gas projects
The Australian government hates social media because that's where the people get to say what they think of the governmnent - in real time.
The social media companies have missed a crucial point about doing business in Australia - you must be paying your dues to the political parties and you must be paying big taxes. This is what the mining and gambling and fosil fuel companies do, and the Australian government does backflips to give them what they want.
The social media ban is broadly popular. The clear majority of voters support it. It’s a political win for the government to push this through, over the objections from Google, Meta, etc.
The fact that social media makes a stack of money in Australia but manages to pay almost no tax absolutely impacts their fate: both with the government and the voters.
Some of the popularity of this legislation might even come from it being seen as sticking it to “techbros”.
Banning eg coal mining, online gambling, etc, is vastly less popular. And they contribute to employment, revenue (via taxes), and they lobby/donate effectively.
Social media could easily have avoided this, as other industries have, but they decided not to. They might yet be able to leverage US tariffs though?
Hardly. Their survey showed about 55% of parents support for blocking 15s and under from Facebook and a bit less than 60% for Instagram, and less than 25% support for blocking YouTube, yet the Government talks as if support was almost universal.
But, and that's a very important but, this was based on questions that assume that adults would not have to do any kind of age or identity verification.
I expect the Government will be very surprised with the response when this is actually implemented.
Uh, yea, it is. Teenagers grow up. In just a few short years. Then they become members of the voting group most vulnerable to propaganda and political manipulation. It's the same reason tobacco and alcohol companies love advertising to teens. You're creating a target that can be identified, manipulated and controlled through social reinforcement.
Teens also have more time to connect with others and develop unsanctioned philosophies than adults who work and take care of the household full-time.
And lets note that the ALP government is very fast and snappy to ban social media, very slow to do important things like:
- ban money laundering in real estate
- ban gambling advertising
And very quick to:
- approve massive new coal mines
- approve massive new natural gas projects
The Australian government hates social media because that's where the people get to say what they think of the governmnent - in real time.
The social media companies have missed a crucial point about doing business in Australia - you must be paying your dues to the political parties and you must be paying big taxes. This is what the mining and gambling and fosil fuel companies do, and the Australian government does backflips to give them what they want.