‘More work to be done’: Chanel Contos encouraged by Australia’s social media age ban

Greek Australian activistic Chanel Contos has expressed encouragement with the improvement of Australia’s κοινωνικά media property prohibition successful the wake of their caller lawsuit astatine the UN, believing it marks the archetypal step successful helping support under-16-year-olds from online dangers.

The intersexual consent activistic was among galore individuals who attended Australia’s ‘Protecting Children successful the Digital Age’ lawsuit held during High-Level Week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly successful New York.

“It was an honour to be the Protecting Children successful the Digital Age lawsuit astatine the United Nations with representatives from nations crossed the globe, different youth information advocates, similar Tilly’s parent Emma, and experts similar κοινωνικά scientist Jonathan Haidt,” Contos told Neos Kosmos.

“I was there to support this betterment and the adoption of akin measures by different countries. All policies necessitate iterations and updates, so different countries tin larn from this archetypal step by Australia.”

Contos remarked connected the pleasance successful seeing not lone the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, but besides Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis astatine the lawsuit that raised the subject of the κοινωνικά media ban.

“As a dual Australian-Greek citizen, it was large to spot the Greek Prime Minister speak astatine this lawsuit too and the adjacent narration betwixt Australia and Greece,” she said.

“Mitsotakis spoke of however Greece has banned mobile telephone usage successful schools, and helium seemed very inspired by Australia’s online information reforms.”

Contos, who is laminitis and CEO of Teach Us Consent, stated she was pleased with the wide turnout that saw representatives from crossed the EU, Fiji, Tonga and different states successful attendance,

“It demonstrated the worldwide committedness to ensuring integer information for young people,” she said.

“I americium very arrogant that Australia was the archetypal to found an eSafety Commissioner, and I heard from galore successful the country that Australia is starring the way successful eSafety reforms due to the fact that of this. This argumentation is simply a adjacent step of that.”

Contos emphasised that it is lone the beginning.

“There remains much work to beryllium done, particularly to combat predatory algorithms crossed κοινωνικά media platforms,” she said.

“Young radical merit to scroll safely but algorithms are exposing them to extreme, explicit and polarising contented successful ways we’ve ne'er seen before.”

The Greek Australian noted:

“Additionally, I judge we request to beryllium much explicit astir the gendered quality of online harms, highlighting some the groups disproportionately subjected to them and those who inflict them, such arsenic image-based abuse.

“New technologies are emerging constantly, so we’ve got to determination rapidly to combat these caller harms. Teach Us Consent will proceed to advocator for young Australians and their information – online and offline.”