TALKING POINT
Frustrations of the social media debate
CMA’s President, Prof. of Law, Elizabeth Handsley, discusses When is a blanket not a blanket? – and other frustrations of the social media debate I doubt anybody disagrees that this is a collective action problem – individual parents and families can’t manage this on...
Channel changes at the ABC: good for children?
‘Channel changes at the ABC: good for children?’ In June, the ABC introduced two new channels – ABC Family and ABC Entertains – and four new digital streams with the aim of bringing together “the best kids, family, and general entertainment titles”, and making it...
Let’s not mention the classification – might spoil the fun?
CMA’s Hon CEO Barbara Biggins poses, ‘Let’s not mention the classification – might spoil the fun?’ The movie Deadpool & Wolverine has had a huge amount of promotion worldwide over recent weeks. Ad week says Deadpool & Wolverine at $211m, now sixth highest...
The Online Safety Act needs to cover more to prevent harm
CMA’s President Elizabeth Handsley and Hon CEO Barbara Biggins argue that ‘The Online Safety Act needs to cover more to prevent harm’ Submissions to the review of the Online Safety Act (OSA) have now closed. CMA has argued that there are a lot more areas that impinge...
Are social media bans the best course of action for minimising harm?
CMA’s Hon CEO, Barbara Biggins, discusses ‘Are social media bans the best course of action for minimising harm?’ The big topic of conversation this month has been whether, and how, we could ban children under the age of 14 years from accessing social media. There’s...
A useful start on reform of our classification system?
CMA’s Hon CEO, Barbara Biggins, posits ‘A useful start on reform of our classification system?’ The federal government has announced the next stage of the long running (since 2011) review of the National Classification Scheme (NCS), and submissions are called for by...
Finding the right balance
CMA’s Vice President, Prof. Wayne Warburton, discusses ‘Finding the right balance’. There is often a disconnect between what science finds about a phenomenon, and the public discourse around that phenomenon. Sometimes this is because those with business or ideological...
Best interests of children must be paramount.
Best interests of children must be paramount. To date, Australia’s online safety regime has not required industry to make the best interests of children paramount when designing or offering services used by children. The Federal Government has recently proposed that a...
Safety by design: an idea whose time has come in Australia?
CMA’s President, Prof. of Law, Elizabeth Handsley, puts forward, 'Safety by design: an idea whose time has come in Australia?' Imagine a world where you could let children go online with as much confidence as you can give them a glass of water out of the tap. Nobody...
How did this happen?
A parent has sent us her concerns about a trailer seen recently by her children. We’re sharing it as this month’s Talking Point. How did this happen? During our Sunday morning children’s cartoons viewing on 9Go on October 22, I saw the following commercial for the...
Online gambling and its impacts – It’s time for the public interest to be put first!
In response to the inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, CMA’s Hon. CEO, Barbara Biggins OAM CF, puts forward the need for urgent action. We seem to have been waiting a long time for government action on the promotion of gambling. The public and CMA have been...
The AANA needs to listen to community concerns about scary content
CMA’s Hon. CEO, Barbara Biggins OAM CF, explains why the AANA must listen to community concerns about scary content Advertisements with scary images can stay with a child, causing sleep disturbances and ongoing unnecessary fears and anxieties. These impacts are not...