And it was never going to...
For the non-Tech people; the main protocol suite that underpins the internet. TCP/IP, was initially implemented by the US military to form the basis for a computer network that would remain connected no matter what. Anyone who has tried to administer a large, distributed network will understand how difficult it can be to block unwanted traffic. If you put up a barrier somewhere traffic literally reroutes around it. I have been a web services developer since 1993. I have continuously managed public infrastructure and been an active member of the open-source community, so I know what I am talking about. There is no doubt in my mind Anika Wells, the Minister for Communications and Anthony Albanese would have been informed their policy could never be enforced. I suspect they chose to ignore the advice because the policy, like most of their polices, exists only to send a message to people who don’t pay attention anyway.
Although a previous Labor supporter, I knew the Albanese cohort were incapable of leading Australia. The mere fact that Chris Bowen and Tanja Plibersek were given ministries is evidence of this.
Don’t scratch the surface, you’ll pop the bubble.
It’s a sad fact that many people who typically align with pseudo socialist views don’t scrutinize party outcomes, they listen for themes and respond to personalities. I was delighted when Barak Obama won the US presidency. It’s only now with the wisdom of hindsight I see he was ineffectual. A gifted orator, a super cool dude, but did not know how to apply power.
It's the same problem many left wing governments have. They lack relationships with industry (outside of the unions) that are critical to influence. Instead, they resort to abstract policy that exist only to signal to the public they are governing.
Policies created without industry experts are subbed and frequently circumvented. This is especially easy if you have specific knowledge or significant resources. It’s only the ignorant and the poor who get caught in stupid traps. In the case of the federal Labor party, that’s all they want. But I doubt the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant will be happy with that. She appears to have a thorn ready to jab in the sides of the likes of Zuckerberg and Musk. I doubt they will ever lose any sleep over anything she says or does.
I suspect the real reason behind the ALP’s push to get teenagers off social media is the swing towards conservative views in younger people. When I was a teenager comedy and music was so heavily drenched in left wing ideals there often was scarcely anything else to it. Take for instance: The Young Ones or The Clash. Remove Thatcher from the subject matter and what do you have. Bum and fart jokes. (I love fart jokes).
Today, young people are rightfully wanting to view the world in a fresh light. Many see the failures of the present pollical systems in the west as having lost their way with high immigrational and prolific welfare spending. They also see the contradiction of so many ‘democratic socialists’ owning multimillion dollar property portfolios and jet setting around the world. They see the natural world not burning to a crisp. They see Greta Thunberg flip flopping from one doom cult to another. Leftist governments have been controlling the narrative with legacy media and now they see social media as an existential threat.
It will have the complete opposite effect.
Young people are seeing this as a defining moment to fight against censorship. You can’t hold back the tide. We cannot afford another decade of pretend Socialism.