AMA submission to the Senate inquiry into influence of international digital platforms

The AMA recently made a submission into the Senate Standing Committee on Economics References’ Inquiry into the Influence of International Digital Platforms. In the submission, the AMA noted its concerns about the influence that international digital platforms have on the health and wellbeing of children, population health literacy, misinformation and the use of personal data and algorithms to market unhealthy products and encourage overuse of screens.  

Currently in Australia, the lack of transparency by international digital platforms and the ways in which they collect, share and use data, leaves individuals exposed to algorithms based on their online habits.

In the submission, the AMA calls for further research to explore and understand the links between; digital platforms and addictions such as internet (or screen) addiction; internet gaming disorder; online gambling addiction; and problematic online porn use (POPU) relating to broader addictive sexual behaviours.

The AMA also suggested that the collection and use of children’s data on digital platforms must be addressed through better privacy and consent regulations more broadly. The AMA is concerned about the prevalence of unhealthy products that children are being exposed to through international digital platforms. Gambling, alcohol, soft drinks, junk food and e-cigarettes are actively marketed across digital platforms.

Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, medical misinformation was distributed on a large scale. The AMA recommended that it is essential to dispel all medical misinformation, including that which is perpetuated through digital media. The submission called for the Australian Government to invest in long-term, robust online advertising to counter health misinformation, including on social media channels.

The AMA awaits the committee’s findings, with the report planned to be released before the end of the year.