CANBERRA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched an attack against social media companies, describing them as "dangerous".
In an interview with News Corp Australia on Friday, Morrison said that he does not allow his daughters, aged nine and 11, to use social media.
He said that global giants in the field such as Facebook and Twitter had a "moral as well as broader societal responsibilities" to teach users that what they read on the platforms is not necessarily true.
"These are valuable tools but they can also be quite dangerous in the wrong hands," Morrison said.
"Just because you read it on the internet doesn't mean it is true and it is important that kids understand that," Morrison said.
"Our kids don't go on social media, but at some point when they do (they have to understand) you don't assume that everything there is genuine and you have to develop that scepticism," Morrison said.
"If you create these things then you have a moral as well as a broader societal responsibility in terms of how they are used," Morrison added.
Friday marked Australia's National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.
Approximately 2.4 million students at 5,726 schools took part in the action day and committed to reducing the prevalence of bullying.
According to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 34 percent of students aged between eight and 13 use social media services.
Cyber-bullying has been a prominent issue in Australia since 14-year-old Dolly Everett from the Northern Territory (NT) took her own life in January 2018 after being bullied online.
Malcolm Turnbull, who was Prime Minister at the time of Everett's death, said that much more work was needed from the government to stop cyber-bullying and minimize its impact when it does happen.
