This policy briefing reflects discussions held at a roundtable of experts from academia and civil society in October 2024, that explored the outcomes of digital co-regulation on Australian children and young people. It critiques the current tendency towards industry self-regulation and co-regulation in Australia, arguing that these measures are best suited to low-risk environments and fail to address the growing risks and harms of digital platforms. It recommends direct government regulation as the primary approach to regulating large digital platforms and emphasises the need to strengthen policymaking capacity within the public sector to meet this need.

The discussion focused on two key themes:

1. effective regulation for children and young people needs to reflect both children’s rights and consumer protections, and
2.  the need for a re-muscularisation of policymaking capacity.

Findings

• The co-regulatory concept has surpassed the context in which it was designed to operate.
• Industry-drafted online safety codes have led to subpar outcomes, including lower age standards for default privacy protection and weaker safeguards for location data.
• These codes often prioritise commercial interests over children's rights.
• A majority of Australians prefer independent regulators draft online safety codes.
• Direct government regulation should be considered for high-risk, high-impact and high-significance issues.
• Effective policymaking for digital spaces will require re-skilling and re-resourcing the public sector.