The Problem: A Flawed Approach to Online Safety
The current *Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act* enforces a blanket ban that is not only easy for children to circumvent but also creates a significant privacy risk. Its biggest flaw is that it forces every single person to undergo a one-time age verification when they create an account, or the first time they use an existing account in Australia. This forces adults, kids, and even tourists to hand over their sensitive ID to tech giants.
This approach replaces parental responsibility with a blunt government mandate, and it won't work.
A Gift to Scammers and Identity Thieves
Labor's plan trains the entire Australian population to hand over sensitive ID documents to countless websites. This normalizes a dangerous behaviour and creates the perfect environment for phishing scams. Scammers will create convincing fake verification pages to harvest passports and driver's licenses from unsuspecting users.
Because every platform will have its own system, you will have no simple way of knowing if a request is legitimate or a scam. This policy doesn't just create a privacy risk; it actively makes every Australian less secure online.
The Solution: Empowering Parents with Real Tools
The PCDSL framework is a sophisticated safety system, not a simple prohibition. It is a secure, opt-in public-private partnership that gives parents the choice to supervise their children's online activity effectively.
The core of the framework is a central, secure government hub (linked to myGov) where parents can register their child's devices. Online platforms are then required to check this hub and automatically apply a standardized set of robust parental controls to any account used on that device.
Designed to Defeat Scams
The PCDSL framework defeats this entire category of scam by design. A parent only ever verifies their identity once, on the secure, official Australian Government myGov hub. You are never asked to provide ID to a social media platform directly.
This creates a simple security rule for everyone: If any site other than the official myGov portal asks for your ID, it is a scam.
This is about giving parents the right tools for the job, not having the government do a poor job of parenting for everyone.
Project Documents & Resources
The Full Policy Proposal
The complete, detailed policy document submitted to government ministers and the eSafety Commissioner.
💡The Simple Explainer
An easy-to-read summary of the framework, explaining how it works and why it's a better solution.
📊The Infographic
A visual, single-page infographic that compares the government's ban with the PCDSL framework.
How to Get Involved
Your support is crucial to push for a smarter, safer, and more effective approach to online safety in Australia.
1. Read the Proposal
Familiarise yourself with the details and the robust failsafes designed to protect both children and parental rights.
2. Sign the Petitions
Sign the Change.org Petition
and Sign the e-petition
EN7828 on the Parliament House website by following this link
3. Share This Project
Share this page, the petitions, and the explainer with your networks, local media, and your local MP.
Take Action: Get the Word Out
Let the people in charge know you support a smarter approach to online safety. Use the tools below to email or tweet at the key decision-makers. You can also contact your local MP.
Email the Ministers
Copy the text below and click the "Open Email" button to send a message to all key contacts.
Copied to clipboard!
Tweet the Ministers
Select the ministers you want to tweet at. The preview below will update automatically.