There’s been much chatter about Australia’s plan to ban social media for under 16-year-olds, but the debate has been given perhaps its most necessary voice in the form of… Jojo Siwa.
The reality star and inventor of gay pop — who owes much of her success to platforms like TikTok, where she spawns viral hip-gyrating videos — spoke of the government’s proposed ban ahead of the TikTok Awards in Sydney on Wednesday.
When asked about the ban — which, if passed, would mark a world-first for social media legislation — Siwa said she was “curious” about how it would play out.
“I think this is a really interesting model that we are going to be able to look at,” she told Confidential (per Daily Telegraph).
Siwa said the success of the bill should be judged on whether banning social media would actually make “people happy”.
“I am just curious. I think that if it is making most people happy, that it is a beautiful thing.”
If anyone knows the pitfalls of social media, it’s the person who went viral for a drunken (but hilarious) TikTok, and Siwa acknowledged as much while discussing Australia’s social media ban.
“I am on it all day long,” Siwa said of platforms like TikTok and Instagram, which are among those targeted by the ban. “It is my job, it is my career.”
The pop star said that while at times social media is “brutal” and “ruthless” (just ask Lil Tay), she still thinks “there’s a flipside” where “everything is celebrated and loved”.
“What is hard is believing that when everybody says so many other things,” Siwa added.
The Dance Moms alum isn’t the only viral star who has weighed in on the bill, which was passed yesterday by Australia’s House of Representatives before it heads to the Senate.
Influencer Anna Paul, also appearing at the TikTok Awards, told PEDESTRIAN.TV that while her younger self would have “hated” the ban, she is now of the mind that social media is “so bad for your mental health.”
It comes as the Senate is expected to oversee the proposed bill today to decide whether it should become law.
The ban, which has been brewing since September and was sped-up by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this month, puts the responsibility on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram to block users under the age of 16, or risk receiving fines of up to $50 million.
While it’s thought the Senate will pass the bill today, with most major parties in favour, the ban has been a source of widespread debate, with some criticising the speed of the bill’s passage and others claiming it won’t tackle the root cause of social media’s harmful effects.
Thankfully, Siwa is neither under 16 nor Australian (and for some reason, isn’t in politics), so there’ll be plenty of hip gyrations and thirsty Karma edits to come.
Lead image: Don Arnold/WireImage
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