Snapchat’s global safety head has rejected Australian proposals to ban children under 16 years from using social media, saying the decision is one that should be left to families.

Raising the age limit for social networks could disadvantage a generation of kids who were already benefiting from online connections, Snapchat platform safety global head Jacqueline Beauchere said on Monday.

Her comments come days after a parliamentary inquiry into social media failed to release an interim report on the issue and after calls from premiers and the federal opposition to raise the social media age limit.

Children must be 13 years old to sign up to platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat.

Ms Beauchere, who is visiting Sydney, told AAP the age limit was appropriate and only parents and guardians should decide whether to delay a teenager’s participation in social media.

“Arguably, a young person could potentially be a bit more mature at 16 than they are at 13 but that is for an individual family to decide and that’s based on a number of factors,” she said.

“These decisions really need to be made as a family unit with, hopefully, parents involved or other caregivers or guardians or other trusted adults, to really know if that young person is ready to be part of social media.”

A Snapchat survey in June found two in three children between the age of 13 and 17 years said they were “deeply involved” with social media, she said, and an age ban could set them back.

“When you’re talking about a ban or young people under the age of 16 not being allowed to have social media … what’s going to happen to the 13 to 15 year olds already on social media?

“I don’t think you can necessarily strip that away from a young person.”

Snapchat, which has more than eight million Australian users, came under fire at the Social Media and Australian Society inquiry in June when an MP shared the story of NSW student Matilda “Tilly” Rosewarne.

The 15-year-old girl died by suicide in 2022 after suffering bullying online, including a fake nude image circulated on the platform.

The social media inquiry was expected to release a report into the issue on Thursday but, because of staff changes, has pledged to release it in coming weeks.

Premiers in NSW, Queensland and South Australia have called for the age limit on social media users to be raised, while opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged to introduce a social media ban for children under 16 within 100 days of taking office.

The federal government has committed $6.5 million to test age-assurance technology, which could verify or estimate a user’s age.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

 

By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson in Brisbane

Source: AAP