Safer rules for online navigation

A new Code of Practice for Online Safety and Content Code for Social Media Services is coming soon. Consultations have already taken place with the tech industry and the public will be able to offer their input in due course on what standards should be enforced by the law. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been around for about 18 years, Instagram and Snapchat for a decade, and Tiktok is the baby at five years old. But their ubiquity has, for a long time, not been accompanied by an attendant understanding of their potential harmful impact on users and society. It is only in recent years that governments have begun tabling laws to restrict harmful content from spreading. It is necessary, and urgent, to introduce rules and ensure more accountability from the tech industry.

But legal limits are just one part of the equation. There also needs to be better education so that users are aware of the pitfalls of online media. Parents will welcome the new code of practice, but they need to take an active interest in their children's online lives. There are plenty of nanny apps to limit Junior's access. But young people growing up in a social media- and tech-saturated world will always be able to exploit loopholes in technology. It is thus imperative that parents develop trust and support with their children so that they are aware when things go awry. Adults, too, can fall prey to scams and fake news. So the onus is also on social media consumers to develop not just digital savvy but also information literacy skills. There are already resources available online, such as the National Library Board's S.U.R.E. (Source. Understand, Read. Evaluate.) programme. By exercising caution, restraint and scepticism, users can navigate the information highway safely. And the new traffic rules will help ensure that everyone is aware of the regulations of the information superhighway.