GP essay question guide
Should governments do more to protect young people online?
A useful answer separates age assurance, harmful design, illegal content, and ordinary speech. It should also test the duties of platforms, parents, schools, and the state.
Topics: Society and Culture, Science and Technology, Politics and Governance
Three argument directions
Set minimum safeguards
Government can impose common duties when platforms have weak incentives to protect children.
Qualification: Age checks can create privacy risks and can be bypassed.
Regulate design, not every message
Rules aimed at recommendation systems and default settings can reduce exposure without policing all speech.
Qualification: Evidence about which design changes reduce long-term harm is still developing.
Share responsibility
Education and parental support are needed because legal limits cannot cover every device and service.
Qualification: A shared-duty model must not let profitable platforms avoid responsibility.
Six examples to compare
Singapore Requires App Stores to Protect Young Users
Singapore's app-distribution safety code requires designated app stores to reduce exposure to harmful content and introduce age-assurance measures. Student link: social media, mental health, identity, fairness, and everyday relationships.
Possible essay use
Singapore's app-distribution safety code requires designated app stores to reduce exposure to harmful content and introduce age-assurance measures.
Limitation
Age assurance may reduce access to harmful material but can create privacy, accuracy, and exclusion risks.
Case or source date: 2025-03-31
Australia Legislates a Social-Media Minimum Age
Australia's 2024 law requires covered social-media platforms to take reasonable steps to stop under-16s from holding accounts. Student link: social media, mental health, identity, fairness, and everyday relationships.
Possible essay use
collective institutions can change social outcomes by shaping access, rights, norms, and support, although effects depend on uptake and implementation
Limitation
The law's protective intent does not establish effective age checks or rule out privacy and displacement harms.
Case or source date: 2024-11-29
Singapore Activates Powers Against Online Criminal Harm
Singapore's Online Criminal Harms Act created directions and codes aimed at disrupting online activity used to facilitate specified crimes. Student link: rights, online safety, public trust, and whether governments can deliver.
Possible essay use
Singapore's Online Criminal Harms Act created directions and codes aimed at disrupting online activity used to facilitate specified crimes.
Limitation
Disruption powers may reduce harm but require proportionality, transparency, and safeguards against overreach or mistaken blocking.
Case or source date: 2024-02-01
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
Algorithms: Shaping News, Dividing Views
Algorithmic bias in media feeds shapes what news users see. This often narrows perspectives, creating filter bubbles and risking societal division.
Digital Lies: Misinformation's Modern Threat
Digital platforms fuel misinformation, eroding public trust and harming democracy. This reflects modern 'fake news' challenges and concepts like echo chambers.
Social Media Shifts: X, Threads & Trust
Social media is changing with X (Twitter) overhauls and new rivals like Threads. This affects how we talk, trust, and see content online.