MRC Report: SOS - Strengthening Online Safety

Empowering Australian Parents to Keep Their Children Safe Online

Published: November 2021

Author: James Mathias

Introduction: Nick Cater

Contributors: Henry Ergas AO and Joe Branigan

Safeguarding children from danger online is an issue of growing concern in an age when half of those under 13 have access to smart phones.

Surveys show that children’s screen time has grown dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Four out of five parents are more concerned about the safety of children left unsupervised online than they would be about leaving children unsupervised in the playground.

This report exams how to equip parents with the tools they need to monitor and protect their children online.

It reveals how anti-competitive behaviour by tech companies is blocking parents from using mobile device security features that would allow them to control their children’s online eco space.

The report calls for an urgent review of competition regulation and enforcement as it applies to the mobile app market, which is tightly controlled by just two tech companies.