At a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra, Meta claimed that social media does not harm children - Australian PM Anthony Albanese struck back by calling it “arrogant” and “out of touch”.

“Meta are showing how out of touch they are and how arrogant they are,” Albanese told reporters on Saturday.

“Every parent knows social media can have a damaging impact on the mental health of young people, on social exclusion, on the bullying that can occur online, on grooming that can occur in a dangerous way online as well.”

Antigone Davis, head of Meta's worldwide safety, was one of the tech executives present during the investigation in Canberra on Friday. She answered questions regarding social media's influence on the youth's mental health.

“I don’t think social media has done harm to our children,” she said, adding, “Issues of teen mental health are complex and multifactorial.”

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Meta does not believe age verification for children necessary

Davis further informed the inquiry that she did not believe Facebook or Instagram should implement age verification, and that young people would attempt to get around the rules. She stated that the burden of handling age restrictions lay on operating systems and app stores instead of social networks.

In Australia, Instagram offers age verification measures where users can confirm they are over 18 by uploading an ID, utilizing a video facial age estimator, or having another over-18 account vouch for them.

Shirley Cramer, CEO of RSPH, said, "As the evidence grows that there may be potential harms from heavy use of social media... it is important that we have checks and balances in place to make #socialmedia less of a wild west when it comes to young people's mental health." pic.twitter.com/JLyHn6KTMT

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 6, 2023

Liberal MP Andrew Wallace then told Davis, “You can’t be taken seriously … when you say that Meta products aren’t harming young Australians”.

Albanese said he believed Meta was deceiving the Australian public, and was presenting itself as having a "contemptuous attitude" toward parents' worries.

The PM told Weekend Sunrise TV, “That’s why when parents are concerned about the impact of social media they’ll be despairing about these social media giants saying ‘nothing to see here, no problem’,” noting, “There is a problem and they need to fess up to their responsibility for social cohesion.”’

Albanese has supported the idea of prohibiting children under 16 from creating social media accounts, stating that excessive online activity at a young age significantly harms their mental well-being.

In late May, the prime minister supported raising the minimum age for social media account registration from 13 to 16, intending to give teenagers more time to mature without encountering online social pressures.

"What we want is our youngest Australians spending more time outside playing sport, engaging with each other in a normal way, and less time online," Albanese told Nova FM radio last month. 

State premiers in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales have also supported the campaign to raise the minimum age for social media registration.