Federal government spending on ads on Facebook, Instagram and other social media apps has more than doubled in ten years at the same time the government is trying to regulate the tech giants and possibly ban children from their platforms.
Government departments and agencies are now spending more than $50 million a year on digital advertising to inform Australians on youth issues such as vaping and consent, despite the Labor government calling for a ban on under-16s and increased regulation of social media networks.
Some experts are calling for the government to use that spending power to bring the tech giants to heel.
