Don’t ban children from social media, says children’s rights expert Sonia Livingston

Is banning children from social media the answer to keeping them safe? Children’s rights expert Sonia Livingston says that children shouldn’t have to live without their platforms. But they want better protection online and more support from their adults.

Sonia was at RightsCon 2025, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, held in Taipei. See more from our coverage from RightsCon on our YouTube channel or the TaiwanPlus website.

Australia sparked a global debate when it imposed a strict social media ban for users under 16. The concern? Unprecedented exposure of children and teens to mental health risks, bullying, and online abuse. But is a blanket ban the answer? Or can tech leaders, policymakers, educators and parents find better solutions?

Featuring:
Sonia Livingstone, professor at the London School of Economics and author of “Children and the Internet”
Kate Sim, director of the Children’s Online Safety and Privacy Research Program at the University of Western Australia, and former child safety policy specialist at Google

We also asked RightsCon participants (24:09): What are your thoughts on putting age limits on using social media, like we're seeing in Australia?

Featuring: Sonam Jindal (Partnership on AI), Aichurek Usupbaeva (Media Sabak Foundation), Malka Older (Global Voices), Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong (Amnesty International), Valeriia Voshchevska (Collective Action Media)

00:40 We look for answers at RightsCon 2025
01:12 Children’s own perspectives can differ — Sonia Livingstone
02:02 We made it easy for bad actors to take advantage of young people — Kate Sim
03:21 Australia’s social media ban: the right thing to do?
05:39 Who bears the responsibility to protect children?
07:23 Digital literacy: what it is and why it matters
09:06 Regulating social platforms — a global debate
10:37 How do we even know what our children are doing online?
13:20 “Don’t punish them”: addressing harmful content together with children
17:20 Meta tones down fact-checking: will children even notice?
19:57 I’m a parent. What should I do?
24:09 Restricting social media: what do activists, academics, and policymakers think?

#SocialMediaBan #Cyberbullying #Adolescence

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