Banning kids under 16 from social media gets bipartisan suppor

Peter Dutton held a press conference yesterday to say they want to ban kids under 16 from social media and that "there's a lot that we can do, and the technology is trending in our favour to make sure that we can deal with the scale of the problem". That's not true of course, he gave no details on what they'll actually do, despite journalists asking directly, multiple times. The Prime Minister was asked later the same day about Dutton's plans and said "we're doing it", further saying "a ban, if it can be effective, is a good way to go on, I've said this repeatedly, repeatedly, and I continue to say it". So there you go, bipartisan support for age verification for all Australians to use social media. eSafety's age assurance trial will look at the options and government will pick the shiniest turd they recommend, just in time for the mid-2025 federal election.