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-# The Failing Social Media Ban
+Title: The Failing Social Media Ban
 Date: 2025-06-19 20:00
 Modified: 2025-06-20 20:00
 Category: Politics
 Tags: politics, social meda, tech policy
 Slug: social-media-ban-fail
 Authors: Andrew Ridgway
 Summary: The Social Media ban is an abject failure of policy. Education and the use of the much better existing tools is the key
-## Introduction
+## 🎯 The Goal: A Legal Framework to Protect Kids
 (Note: This is a light comedic take, leaning into an Australian perspective.)
-You’ve probably heard the headlines. Australia’s attempting to tackle teen social media use with a… let’s just say, ambitious plan. It’s a spectacular example of over-engineering a simple problem. And frankly, it’s a bit baffling.
+The Australian government’s plan to ban social media for teens has sparked on going debate. While the intention is noble—protecting minors from online risks—it’s clear the technical and legal hurdles are massive. This government concept of relying on “facial aging” or “Proof of Age” APIs are prone to privacy violations and data breaches, the government should focus on **legal accountability**. Parents already have tools that let them make decisions about their children’s tech use without needing to hand over photos of their ID. The governments current approach is mired in bureaucracy and the tech world does not thrive in that environment. Instead of trying to outsource the problem to consultants, the government should **educate parents on the tools already available**.
-## The Core Issue: Julie Inman and the “Think of the Children” Argument
+## 🧩 The Problem: Tech Giants Won’t Do It
-Let’s be clear: Julie Inman, needs to be stopped. Her constant refrain of “Think of the children” is an assault on privacy, self-determination, and the right of a parent to parent. It’s a classic tech-bro argument, and it’s not a good one.
+The government’s plan to use facial recognition or “age-based” filters is flawed from the start. These systems are expensive, unreliable, and not designed for the scale of a national rollout. Even if a company like Meta or Google could do it, they’d **never** do it for the same reason: **no money in the equation**. The only alternative is to **outsource to consultants**, but those consultants are **not equipped to handle the complexity**. The government’s plan is a joke—no one is going to build a system that’s 100% accurate, secure, and compliant with privacy laws and those that *maybe* could have no insentive to
-## My Idea… (Let’s Just Say, “Piss Off”)
+## 🛠️ The Tools Parents Already Have
-I’ve got an idea… how about you just *piss off*? I don’t need you reaching your grubby mits into my house to tell me what to do.
+Instead of expecting the government to fix this, parents should be using the **tools already in their homes**. These tools are **free, secure, and effective**. Some examples include (and I use in my own home):
-## The ABC Report & The Failure of Government Intervention
+*   **Fritz Box Parental Controls** (https://en.fritz.com/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-Box-7530/8_Restricting-internet-use-with-the-FRITZ-Box-parental-controls/) - Allows blocking of websites and apps, setting time limits, and creating user profiles.
 *   **Microsoft Family Safety** (https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/family-safety) - Provides screen time limits, content filters, and activity reporting.
 *   **Nintendo Parental Controls** (https://www.nintendo.com/au/apps/parental-controls/) - Allows managing game time, content restrictions, and communication settings on Nintendo devices.
 *   **Google Family Link** (https://families.google.com/familylink/) - Enables remote monitoring, app management, and location tracking for children's Android devices.
 *   **Apple Family Sharing** (https://support.apple.com/en-au/105121) - Allows sharing purchases, subscriptions, and location information with family members.
-I’ve read today that Australia’s Social media is failing. [Link to ABC Report: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-19/teen-social-media-ban-technology-concerns/105430458](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-19/teen-social-media-ban-technology-concerns/105430458)
+These tools let parents **block apps, limit screen time, and monitor online activity** without needing to share sensitive data. They offer parents full control over what is available and are not dependant on some arbitrary list governed in legislation (which is in an of itself an indicator of how backwards this legislation is)
-## Skepticism About Technical Solutions
+## 📚 The Real Solution: Education, Not Tech
-Since it was announced, I've been skeptical of any technical way the government can actually achieve this. ML facial aging is “passable” but does not perform at anywhere near the level required for the successful role out of a program like this.
+The government’s plan is a **mistake**. Instead of trying to build a new system, parents should be **educating themselves on the tools already available**.
-## The “Proof of Age” API – A Massive Can of Worms
+### 🔄 Flexibility for Every Family
-The only other mechanism was some sort of “Proof of Age” API provided by government that opens up a massive can of worms in terms of privacy. **(Does anyone seriously want to provide a photo of the Driver License or Passport to log onto Facebook? And what about where Facebook or *shudders* X or whatever, where do they store this? Absolute privacy and data retention and sovereignty nightmare)**
+*   **Approved apps**
 *   **Blacklisted content**
 *   **Screen time limits**
 *   **Privacy controls**
-## Why Technical Programs Are Doomed
+These tools let parents **make decisions tailored to their children’s needs**. No one-size-fits-all approach. It gives parents autonomy over their online decision making whilst better respecting everyones privacy, including the childs.
-These technical programs were forever doomed to fail, they are expensive, the functional requirements to broad and there is ZERO appetite within the social media giants to make it work… Could they do facial age pretty well… sure, for an astronomical cost and they might achieve a marginally better rate of recognition, but never reach the 100% requirement that a program like this would require for such a high risk, regulatory, application… but they most assuredly WILL NOT do that because in no world is there any money in this.. anywhere. We all know thats the only way to get them to do anything. It appears the Australian Government has decided to try and outsource this… All I’ll say is if I don’t think the big tech guys can do it… some little Australian Consultancy has next to no chance. The honestly can't afford the minds they'd need to do it.
+## 🧩 Why the Government’s Plan Fails
-## Surely It's Time for a Sunk Cost
+The government’s plan is a **disaster**. It’s not about fixing the problems of social media use in teens, it’s about giving the perception they are doing something about it using archaic methods and tools that don't go to the root cause. The tools parents already have are **better, cheaper, and more secure**. The only way to make this work is for the government to **stop trying to solve a social problem with tech** and **focus on the real solution: education and parental autonomy**.
-Surely it is time to call a sunk cost a sunk cost. Move onto to what this SHOULD have been in the first place A legal framework providing parents the ammunition to say to kids, sorry I need to lock down your phone, its the law, I can't afford the fine. (A fine that could clearly never be enforced but hey, at least its there for someone to say to their kids)
+## 📝 Summary: The Right Tools, Not the Tech
-## The Right Approach: Empowering Parents
+The government’s plan is a dead monkey. Instead of trying to build a system that’s 100% accurate and secure, parents should be using the **tools already in their homes**. These tools are **free, effective, and preserve privacy**. They let parents **make decisions about their children’s tech use on a true case by case basis** without needing to hand over sensitive data.
-An education piece explaining how to use the very robust and powerful tools ALREADY IN EXISTENCE. These tools are excellent because:
+## 🧩 Final Thoughts
-*   They allow PARENTS to make the decision at the hyper local level about what is appropriate for their children in terms of tech use
+The government’s plan is a **disaster**. It’s not about fixing the problem with social media, it’s about creating the perception they are solving a problem that is already solved. Parents should be using the **tools already in their homes**. The real solution is not to expect a government to fix this, but to **educate themselves on the tools that already exist**. Until we accept that this is our responsbility the problem will continue propogate because the only place it can be fixed is in the home.
 *   They do not require anyone to give access to their confidential government identification to random tech bros
 *   They do not require me to have a daily picture of my face taken and stored somewhere well outside of my control or options
 *   They provide proper tools to actually monitor local considerations like screen time broad application use
 *   Provide PARENTS the power to choose what should be on the list of approved applications
 *   Not some stupid list as provided in the legislation
 *   They actually named the applications rendering this legislation useless next Tuesday
 ## # The Tools I Use
 I personally use the ACL lists available in my router to lock out the internet overnight to my kids devices [Link to ACL documentation: https://en.fritz.com/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-Box-7530/8_Restricting-internet-use-with-the-FRITZ-Box-parental-controls/](https://en.fritz.com/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-Box-7530/8_Restricting-internet-use-with-the-FRITZ-Box-parental-controls/) Coupled with strict control of their personal laptops for content and use for school and light entertainment as well as use of the CENTRAL gaming computer (all gaming is done outside of bedrooms, except for switch, but only sometimes when the need arises due to toddlers) [Link to Microsoft Family Safety: https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/family-safety](https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/family-safety) [Link to Nintendo Parental Controls: https://www.nintendo.com/au/apps/parental-controls/](https://www.nintendo.com/au/apps/parental-controls/) As well as a separate set of controls for their phone (We use android here but apple has a similar set of tools) [Link to Google Family Link: https://families.google.com/familylink/](https://families.google.com/familylink/) [Link to Apple Parental Controls: https://support.apple.com/en-au/105121](https://support.apple.com/en-au/105121)
 These services all ensure that:
 *   All apps installed on these devices need to be approved by a parent
 *   For younger children all websites visited need to be approved by a parent
 *   For older children this moves to a blacklist where specific content is blocked based on rules and restrictions are only eased when approved by a parent
 *   All screen time is limited to what The parents deem acceptable with hard lockouts of both device and internet depending on the use
 *   Some apps ARE allowed through this lockout (eg. spotify overnight so that music can be listened )
 *   And, within privacy limits, all content created or sent in messages is viewable by me as a parent, up to a a certain age
 ## # Summary
 These tools provide EVERYTHING a parent needs to monitor and maintain acceptable use of technology within a household. They provide the flexibility to allow each household to work on what works for them and don't create arbitrary age limits or lists of applications based on whomever the Information Commissioner is having a tit for tat with at the time. They also provide me the flexibility to change as the landscape changes. Anything other than broad “thou shalt not” in the legislation (which is completely unenforceable, just want to reiterate that point) is a waste of energy and time, and now we are wasting tax payer dollars on coming up with facial recognition tech that is doomed to fail. I said when this policy was announced that it will amount to nothing other than lining the pockets of some savvy tech consultants who will promise the world and deliver nothing and here I am 18 months later proven 100% correct. Educate on the existing tools THEY REQUIRE WORK, from each parent to get right, I don't have it perfect here but I have a high degree of confidence I can track down and mitigate an issue if it arises. They provide me the flexibility to monitor and provide guardrails whilst assessing the needs and capabilties of MY child and making MY OWN decisions about what they can and can't work with As parents its time for the words “Surely the government can fix this” stops being said and we look to fix our own problems with the tooling at hand. It is there you just have to get off your arse and use it