Albo’s TikTok dilemma

Imagine if Albo has to overturn the social media ban because of his communist masters

Chinese social media giant TikTok is set to launch a constitutional challenge to Australia’s controversial social media ban for under 16-year-olds. This comes amid calls to decrease the voting age to 16, an exercise that I recently demonstrated will force children to become adults too soon.

Opposition to Labor’s social media ban for under 16-year-olds, an abhorrent exercise in government overreach led by eKaren, has had little practical effect. God knows Australia’s Uniparty isn’t interested in defending liberal democracy.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

The problem deepens with TikTok considering legal action against Albanese’s government – Google too. Albanese is snapping back, attempting to throw his weight around against Silicon Valley without realising that Australia does not own the digital realm. It did not create it. And it has no replacement. What happens if Google and Bing blacklist Australia? What happens to the business world if social media is shut off? Labor likes to talk about existential threats – I assure you, Silicon Valley shutting Australia off is the end of the economy. Labor does not have the ability to pull rank, especially not when Silicon Valley sits inside America – our major defence ally. What’s Albanese’s plan, asking China to run our search engines and social media? Seriously. Labor’s desire to censor free speech is overshadowing all rational thought.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo’s TikTok dilemma.

MICHAEL DE PERCY | Chinese social media giant TikTok is set to launch a constitutional challenge to Australia’s controversial social media ban for under 16-year-olds.

This comes amid calls to decrease the voting age to 16.https://t.co/dI5h4fR7EF

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) July 28, 2025

Two Against One with Rowan Dean and Michael Danby

On The World ccording to Rowan Dean, 25 July 2025 

Discussing the demise of green hydrogen in Australia and French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognise a Palestinian state on "The World According to Rowan Dean" tonight.

I'm on from 41:23 minutes in: Two Against One with Rowan Dean and Michael Danby.

It’s time to give 16-year-olds the vote

It's what the Greens want so it must be a good thing said nobody ever except the Brits

While the left has a history of lowering the voting age, the change from 21 to 18 years of age as the arbitrary signifier of legal adulthood attributed the relevant rights and responsibilities to those now deemed adults. The change to 16 years of age might as well be to 1 or 100 years of age. It really depends on society’s view as to what age a human is deemed to be responsible for their own existence and capable of participating in society

As Alexandra Marshall wrote in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Sure, give 16-year-olds the vote, argues Michael de Percy, but if the government is going to treat them as fully-fledged adults at the ballot box, then they must extend this to all aspects of their lives. If they are not prepared to do this, then it will prove, without question, that this action is a political stunt to boost numbers rather than a genuine acknowledgement that the age of responsibility has dropped.

Terry Barnes wrote in the Morning Double Shot newsletter:

Last week, Michael de Percy made a courageous (in the Sir Humphrey sense) conservative case for lowering the voting age to 16. This week, Colleen Harkin counters with a case against. She makes the point that most teenagers barely know or care about the workings of the civil society that would compel their vote, not least because civics education in Australia is a farce. We would add that it is also hopelessly biased towards the left, and calibrated to turn out lifelong Green-Left voters by the thousand.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, It’s time to give 16-year-olds the vote.

'OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE, OLD ENOUGH TO FIGHT' - giving 16-year-olds the vote signifies the government sees them as fully functioning adults with the same rights & responsibilities.

In which case - there are a lot of other things that need to be amended.🤔https://t.co/f4aC4i7mqG

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) July 24, 2025