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dc.contributor.authorFlew, Terry
dc.contributor.authorKoskie, Timothy
dc.contributor.authorStepnik, Agata
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-24T04:44:15Z
dc.date.available2025-06-24T04:44:15Z
dc.date.issued2025en_AU
dc.identifier.citationFlew, Terry and Koskie, Timothy and Stepnik, Agata, Digital Policy as Problem Space: Policy Formation, Public Opinion, and Australia's Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 (May 19, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5310865en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5310865
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2123/34025
dc.description.abstractThis article examines Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 as a case study in digital policy formation, focusing on the socio-political processes that shaped its development. Framing the debate through Celia Lury’s concept of “problem spaces,” the paper explores how the issue of youth and social media use is constructed through “givens” (perceived risks), “goals” (protection), and contested “operators” (policy solutions). Drawing on public opinion surveys and stakeholder submissions to a parliamentary inquiry, the article finds widespread public concern about online harms, especially for minors, but sharp disagreement about how best to address them. While the Act’s age restriction was broadly supported by the public and some stakeholders, critics warn of unintended consequences and advocate alternative measures such as media literacy and platform accountability. The case reveals broader tensions in digital governance between public demand for action, legislative responsiveness, and competing visions of youth digital rights.en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSSRNen_AU
dc.rightsCopyright All Rights Reserveden_AU
dc.subjectDigital rightsen_AU
dc.subjectsocial mediaen_AU
dc.subjectplatform governanceen_AU
dc.subjectproblem spacesen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectage restrictionsen_AU
dc.titleDigital Policy as Problem Space: Policy Formation, Public Opinion, and Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024en_AU
dc.typePreprinten_AU
dc.subject.asrcANZSRC FoR code::47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE::4701 Communication and media studies::470102 Communication technology and digital media studiesen_AU
dc.subject.asrcANZSRC FoR code::47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE::4701 Communication and media studies::470106 Media industry studiesen_AU
dc.subject.asrcANZSRC FoR code::48 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES::4804 Law in context::480411 Media and communication lawen_AU
dc.rights.otherAll content on this site: Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.en_AU
usyd.facultySeS faculties schools::Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences::School of Art, Communication and Englishen_AU
usyd.departmentCentre for AI, Trust and Governanceen_AU
workflow.metadata.onlyNoen_AU


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