All parents worry about their children’s safety, especially when they are online. However, do you really know what they are watching?
The Federal Government is aware of distressing reports about a video of a suicide circulating on social media platforms. Member for Mackellar, Jason Falinski has expressed his concern about what our children view online.
“The reports of these distressing videos being viewed by our children are very worrying.” Mr Falinski said.
“It is impossible for parents to know what their children are doing every second, of every day. However, we expect social media platforms to be doing some of the heavy lifting in removing this kind of highly distressing material.”
The Government’s eSafety Commissioner has been engaging closely with social media platforms about the reports of the videos. The Federal Government expects digital platforms to take greater responsibility for keeping their Australian users safe and enforcing their terms of service.
Last year the Minister for Cyber Safety, the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP announced plans for a new Online Safety Act, which includes the creation of a set of Basic Online Safety Expectations for social media platforms.
“Keeping Australians safe online is a top priority for the Morrison Government. The internet offers significant economic and social benefits, but these benefits will only be fully realised if Australians can engage confidently and safely in the online world.” Minister Fletcher said.
“The new Act will establish a new take-down scheme to tackle the cyber abuse of Australian adults. While children are particularly vulnerable to online bullying, we know that adults in the Australian community are also subject to online abuse and hate,”
Anyone who encounters this content should report it to the social media platform they’ve seen it on, or to eSafety at www.esafety.gov.au/report.
We encourage anyone experiencing emotional distress to contact one of the following services:
· Kids Helpline. 1800 55 1800. Phone support is there all day, every day. Online support is open from 8am-midnight every day (AEST)
· Suicide Callback Service. 1300 659 467. Phone support all day, every day, and follow-up calls.
· Headspace and eHeadspace. 1800 650 890. Open 9am-1am daily (AEST).
· Lifeline Australia 13 11 14. Phone support all day, every day. Online support 7pm-4am daily (AEST).
· Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. Phone support all day, every day. Online support 3pm-midnight every day.
“The most important take out from this is, if you are worried about your children, or worried about yourself, please remember there is help available, please ask for it.” Mr Falinski said.
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