EXCLUSIVE
Kyle Sandilands has blasted Anthony Albanese over his divisive new social media restrictions, insisting it’s not the PM’s job to tell parents how to raise their children.
The top-rating radio king and new dad told Daily Mail Australia the government needed to stop wasting time with its ill-conceived ‘nanny state’ legislation – including banning under 16s from social media and so-called ‘misinformation’ laws.
Instead, he said the prime minister needed to force social media companies to take full responsibility for ‘weeding out the evil on their platforms’.
‘I absolutely want kids to be protected, I don’t want a single child to get bullied, but a social media ban isn’t the way to go about it,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure why the government all of a sudden thinks it should be raising people’s kids for them.
‘It should be parents deciding what social media platforms their kids use.’
Sandilands’ blunt assessment comes after the Albanese government introduced the controversial legislation to parliament on Thursday.
Radio titan Kyle Sandilands has warned Anthony Albanese that it’s not his job to tell parents how to raise their children and says the government’s ill-conceived social media age restrictions need to be fully explored before they are rushed through the Senate
Anthony Albanese is friends with Kyle Sandilands and has even met his young son Otto but that hasn’t stopped the radio star from offering a brutal assessment of his proposed laws
If passed, the new laws will block children under 16 from using Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok, X and Instagram – while others social media sites, such as YouTube, WhatsApp and Messenger Kids, will remain unrestricted.
Under the world-first proposal, the social media sites will face fines of up to $50million for failing to take ‘reasonable steps’ to keep minors off their platforms – though details about how the ban would be effectively implemented are sparse.
Although Sandilands’ hit Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show is famed for its fast-flowing comedy, he said it was important to stop and have a serious conversation about the laws before they are pushed through the Senate.
He said he appreciated the motivation behind the laws but warned telling teens what they ‘can and can’t do’ would simply drive internet-savvy youngsters to access the sites surreptitiously.
‘While I understand they’re wanting these laws to protect those that have succumbed to the dark side of social media, it should be social media companies themselves responsible for weeding out the evil on their platforms,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Social media restrictions only encourage kids to seek out what’s banned, and going about it in an unregulated and secretive way.
‘Every kid knows how to use a VPN. Any type of ban is absolutely useless.
‘The solution is holding the actual social media companies responsible for what’s on their platforms.
Albanese at Sandilands’ wedding with radio co-star Jackie O
The popular breakfast radio king says the proposed age restrictions will simply force internet-savvy minors to flout the laws and secretly access social media sites
‘If these companies can get richer from advertising to Australians, then they can also protect Australian children from bullies and scams.
‘There needs to be more of a focus on social media companies to properly police their platforms and less on Australians being told what they can and can’t do.
‘Why are 16 and a 17-year-olds exempt from these laws? They’re still just as vulnerable as minors as anyone else.’
The radio and television star has been a long-standing friend of the prime minister, with Albanese last year even attending his star-studded wedding to Tegan Kynaston, with whom Sandilands shares a beautiful young son, Otto.
Despite his close connection to the nation’s leader, Sandilands has not been afraid to criticise his government over its social media ban nor its proposed ‘disinformation laws’, warning they risked jeopardising everyday Australians’ right to free speech.
That legislation will allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to impose massive fines on social media companies that fail to adequately crack down on users posting ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ on their pages.
‘Disinformation laws sound like a great idea as a headline, but when you look into it, who’s actually deciding what’s misinformation?’ Sandilands told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Many issues aren’t simply just black and white. All issues require healthy and respectful debate, not being shut down by laws which suppress free speech.
‘Sharing information is how we all grow as humans.’
Sandilands’ views have been backed by the Australian Human Rights Commission, which has also raised concerns about the scope of the Albanese government’s social media restrictions.
‘Given the potential for these laws to significantly interfere with the rights of children and young people, the Commission has serious reservations about the proposed social media ban,’ it said in a statement.
‘The social media ban is designed to protect children and young people from online harms and the negative impact social media is having on their well-being.
‘However, such a social media ban is likely to also have negative human rights impacts on children and young people.
‘There are arguments for and against the introduction of a social media ban for under-16s. While a ban may help to protect children and young people from online harms, it will also limit important human rights.
‘Based on the information currently available, the Australian Human Rights Commission has serious reservations about the proposed social media ban for children under 16 years of age.’
Introducing the bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the laws would help parents resist their children’s desire to access social media.
‘The legislation brought forward by the Albanese government is, in the most fundamental sense, about helping families when they sit around the kitchen table, they have that hard conversation about accessing social media,’ she said.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland introduces the divisive bill on Thursday
‘Our laws will enable parents to say no.’
Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman offered the bill bipartisan support, describing ‘the safety of Australian children online from social media is one of the defining issues of our era.’
‘It is of titanic significance to our community,’ he said.
‘The social media companies for too long have abrogated their responsibility to care about Australian children.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk