Regulating how kids access the internet – including social media – must balance protection from harm with children’s rights to expression and information.
Most social media PR blurb is designed to convince the public these tech companies are a benign force for good. What the public really needs is a public service internet.
For some teens on social media, TikTok and Twitter aren’t all about selfies or the latest craze in online “challenges.” Some teens are using social media to advocate for social justice.
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is seen as a threat to the digital public square. International regulation is required to protect internet users’ access to democratic public spaces.
People used social media to connect with others, but after the pandemic, social media is increasingly fractured. Users adopt closed media spaces where they feel safe to express personal values.
The government’s plan to make social media companies hand over trolls’ details aims to make it easier for victims to sue their harassers for defamation. But this conflates two very different concepts.
We all have biases that impact what information we choose to accept and reject. But there are some ways we can train ourselves to become more discerning.
Eating disorder ‘communities’ online can be dangerous places for young and impressionable teens. And social media algorithms further spread harmful content.
Professor of Media and Communication and Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Swinburne University of Technology
Professor Digital Culture, Business and Computing at Durham University Business School and Advanced Research Computing (ARC), Durham University, Durham University
Professor of Public Theology in the Department of Beliefs and Practices, Faculty of Theology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam