Australians back government oversight, age restrictions for social media platforms
A new survey adds political backing to the major parties push to regulate social media companies.
Australians overwhelmingly back age restrictions for social media platforms, according to a new survey by a conservative think tank that adds fresh impetus to a political push for regulation of tech giants.
A survey of 2275 Australians, conducted by CT Group for the Liberal Party aligned Menzies Research Centre and viewed by Capital Brief has found overwhelming support for social media age verification laws, with 80% in favour and just 8% opposed.
More Australians (45%) supported the government deciding what constitutes misinformation than opposed it (28%), amid growing concern over the spread of false claims on X – formerly Twitter – since a 2022 takeover by Elon Musk.
Under both the former and current governments, Australia has taken a lead role internationally in seeking to regulate social media giants. That has included attempts to force them to pay news outlets for links to journalism on their platforms, and ordering them to take down extremist footage. Last month, the federal government announced it will establish a joint select committee on social media, partially tasked with investigating the influence of algorithms on Australian users.
