Rising Eating Disorders Demand Accountability From Social Media Giants, Not Just age Bans
A growing chorus of voices is questioning whether australia’s recently enacted social media age ban goes far enough to protect vulnerable young people, as eating disorders surge and platforms struggle to contain harmful content. The debate highlights a critical need to hold tech companies accountable for the safety of their users, rather than simply shifting duty to parents and individuals.
The urgency of the issue was brought into sharp focus following the 2022 election, when a constituent shared her family’s harrowing experience with anorexia. The story – of forced refeeding, compounding mental health challenges, and immense financial strain – was not an isolated incident. Eating disorders among those aged 10 to 19 have risen by 86% as 2012, a trend coinciding with the proliferation of social media and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, admissions to the emergency department at Monash Children’s Hospital for eating disorders doubled compared to the previous year. The situation is so bad that it caused a once young passionate girl full of life to commit suicide is so sickening.”
These concerns were raised in Parliament, leading to a commitment from Prime Minister Anthony albanese and then-Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to allocate funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to eating disorder research.subsequent roundtables and working groups generated a series of recommendations presented to the government, contributing to the eventual social media age ban.
However, the ban – prohibiting children under 16 from accessing social media platforms without parental consent – is facing criticism. According to surveys conducted by the Butterfly Foundation, almost two-thirds of respondents report that social media negatively impacts their body image. The algorithms powering these platforms, much like those delivering gambling advertisements, actively feed content to users predisposed to eating disorders. University of Melbourne research reveals that individuals with eating disorders are almost 400% more likely to encounter diet-related content and nearly 4,000% more likely to be shown content specifically related to eating disorders on TikTok.
Moreover,those struggling with these conditions are adept at circumventing existing safety measures,utilizing coded hashtags to bypass AI moderation systems – a tactic described as “insidious.” While Albanese asserts that the ban empowers australian families to “take back power” from tech companies, critics argue it fails to address the root of the problem.
Eight in 10 young people believe social media platforms should do more to promote positive body image, yet the age ban alone does not achieve this. It places the onus of online safety on users, parents, and the community, while allowing the underlying algorithmic issues to persist.
A more robust solution, championed by the initiator of the working groups, involves establishing an overarching duty of care for social media companies. This would include the ability for users to turn off or reset algorithms, greater openness in system operations, proactive risk mitigation, and enforceable penalties for non-compliance. In essence, it would compel platforms to take responsibility for the environments they have created and prioritize user safety. A bill embodying these principles was previously tabled in Parliament,garnering support from organizations including the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education,the Foundation for Social Health,the Human Rights Law Centre,Reset Tech Australia,the Butterfly Foundation,and the Black Dog Institute.
A duty of care, albeit a weaker version, was once promised by former Communications Minister michelle Rowland, but its fate remains unclear. While the age ban may offer some protection,the work remains incomplete. Simply shifting responsibility to the user is insufficient. It’s time to demand real accountability from social media companies and legally mandate the creation of safe online spaces.
If you or someone you no is struggling with an eating disorder, help is available.In australia, the Butterfly Foundation is at 1800 33 4673. In the UK, Beat can be contacted on 0808-801-0677. In the US, help is available at nationaleatingdisorders.org or by calling ANAD’s eating disorders hotline at 800-375-7767. Othre international helplines can be found at Eating Disorder Hope.
Zoe Daniel is a three-time ABC foreign correspondent and former independent member for Goldstein. She is the chair of Mental Health Victoria.
