Parmjeet Parmar: ACT MP on the outcome of the Parliamentary Select Committee into online safety, youth social media ban

There are claims a Parliamentary inquiry into online safety is rushing toward regulation without fully considering the consequences. 

A Select Committee is backing a social media ban for under 16s and calling for an online regulator and tougher controls on harmful apps and algorithms. 

ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar initiated the inquiry last year but says the recommendations don't have adequate analysis. 

She told Ryan Bridge concerns about youth online are real, and we need to find real solutions for them. 

Parmar says it's a complex issue and wasn't dealt with the seriousness that parents and young people deserve. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The IMPA who kicked off an inquiry into social media
harm for kids doesn't like the outcome. The Education Committee's
final reports say is basically, ban under sixteen from TikTok, Facebook,
other platforms is doing them damage. Dr PALMJ. Palmer represents
ACT on the Education Workforce Committee, joins me this morning,
good morning, Hello, good morning. So you didn't like the
outcome of the inquiry.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Why not? I'm actually quite disappointed to see the outcome
because the idea was to go with an open mind,
not just copy and paste of what others have done
without actually examining everything. I don't like it because banning
social media funder sixteen is one of the recommendations and
this issue was actually central to the reason for the inquiry.

(00:43):
And you will note in the advice that was provided
by the advisors, the advisors didn't provide full advice on
this issue this intervention, and I wrote to the Select
Committee urging the Select Committee to seek advice on this
particular intervention, and the Select Committee members, by maturity, decided
not to proceed. So my view is that they took

(01:06):
a predetermined approach, and in my view, this is a
very serious issue and they didn't get really undermine the
Select Committee's rule.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Didn't get the evidence, didn't get the evidence. They just
go on ahead with a headline grabbing decision. But you,
I mean, you can't say, Palm Jack Kenny. You can't
sit there and tell us that it's not bad for kids.
I mean, look at them.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
So we know. And I must say that concerns about
young people online are real and we need to find
real solutions for them. So this is a complex issue,
and what I'm saying is that it was not dealt
with the seriousness that parents and young people deserve. And
now issue here is this that with this approach, what

(01:48):
will happen is that all New Zealanders will be required
to upload their IDs digitally. And this is not just
about the physical part of it. So if you consider
the scale of data these platforms would come out. So
this is your identity, your online behavior, your networks, your
past and current behaviors online. So in my view, this

(02:08):
isn't just information. It's actually powerful.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
It's fairy. That is fair. But you can choose, Like
we live in a free society, you do not have
to sign up to a social media platform. You can
choose not to if I go buy alcohol, then I
need to show my ID.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
But you don't leave your ID with them here. You
will be required to upload your ID to these platforms,
and that is where we have concerns. We don't want
to see new.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Zealanders, so don't.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
You compromise for their polity, But so don't use. What
I wanted the selectimitty to do was oral work to
see how we could mitigate this. But that didn't happen
because we didn't get the advice on this intervention from
the advisors, and the Selectivity then went ahead and made
this as a recommendation one of the recommodity Right, all right.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
But let's be honest. If you force under sixteen year
olds to prove their age, that doesn't mean that everyone
over sixteen has to give an ID.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Does it. So that will be the case because when
it is going to be based on age, age verification
will be required. So in many many cases it may
not be possible for even if it's biometrics or some
other ways used to just look at the image and
say the person is sixteen, aren't doing that. So the

(03:24):
issue here is this that we had the opportunity to
learn from them and YouTube also wrote to the Select
Comittee this is when we were doing the second report
to share their experiences, but Selectimitty turned down that request
as well.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Okay, all right, Palm Jack, appreciate your time this morning.
Acting P. Palm Jack Palmer not happy with the inquiry.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
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