Source: Radio New Zealand
Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee has release its final report into the harm social media causes for young people online. RNZ
A leading member of the government’s inquiry into social media harm says New Zealand wants to be a ‘fast follower,’ not a leader.
Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee has released its final report on the inquiry into the harm social media causes for young people, offering recommendations including banning under-16 year olds from social media.
The report found while New Zealand had multiple pieces of legislation related to online content regulation – such as the Harmful Digital Communications Act – there was no specific legislation regulating online platforms for user safety.
But committee acting chair National MP Carl Bates told Morning Report it was important that New Zealand followed the lead of other countries.
“We would look at what’s happening overseas, we would implement what’s working or what seems to be working, and recognise that if we follow in the footsteps of international changes it will be easier for international platforms and players to work with New Zealand in solving these problems,” he said.
All the review’s recommendations should be taken “in the context of New Zealand being a fast follower rather than trying to lead the way internationally” to try and solve some of these issues, he said.
He said the platforms themselves were offered the opportunity to give feedback.
“There was a range of feedback that came from the platforms, we heard their view on how they’re addressing to solve the online challenges that occur for both young New Zealanders and New Zealanders alike,” he said.
“However, we clearly as a committee felt that could go further and the recommendations reflect that.”
Bates said the recommendations were wide-ranging.
“The key recommendations were across a range of things, to make the point that this isn’t about solving online harm by doing one thing,” he said.
“The social media ban for under-16 year olds is part of that, but it also talked about banning ‘nudify apps’ and considering the regulation of algorithmic transparency by online platforms, establishing a national regulator.”
Those ‘nudify apps’ used AI deepfake technology to generate fake naked images of a person from a photograph or video, and were a particular concern for the committee.
“Another part is regulating deepfake technology, but it requires a flexible regulatory approach. That’s why part of the recommendations of the committee recognise that an online regulator needs to be able to be responsive to the changes in technology over time,” Bates said.
“One of the recommendations is to review the legislative framework we have in New Zealand because clearly that was created in a time that these apps and this online technology didn’t exist, so there is an absolute need to update the legislative framework.
“And the report also says regulation would send a clear signal that New Zealand is open to the beneficial uses of AI generated content, such as the cat and the piano maybe, but does not accept that being developed without a very real regard to the harm they can cause.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
