David Coleman urges government to include age verification in social media inquiry

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman has urged the Albanese government to include age verification trials in the government’s specialised committee into social media. A Joint Parliamentary Select Committee will investigate Meta ending its financial deals with news media companies in Australia and the consequences of countering misinformation on digital platforms. The committee is expected to report on the impacts of harmful content on users' mental health. “We need to move into the era of moving into age verification to protect kids online,” Mr Coleman told Sky News Australia. “We would never allow kids to watch dangerous movies or R-rated material on TV, so why is it okay on social media? It’s not okay, it has got to stop and the government has to include social media in this trial.”