Former Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French has been tasked with examining the legal, regulatory and technological pathways for the State Government to impose a social media ban on children under 14. Image: Region.
Children under 14 years of age may soon be banned from having social media accounts if a study underway in South Australia finds the idea has merit.
The State Government says the study comes amid what it describes as mounting concern among experts and the community more broadly about the adverse impact of social media on children, including exposure to inappropriate, illegal and restricted content, cyberbullying and negative effects on mental health and development.
It says former Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French, one of the nation’s pre-eminent legal minds, has been tasked with examining the legal, regulatory and technological pathways for the State Government to impose a ban within the constitutional framework.
Justice French is currently the chancellor of the University of Western Australia and the chair of the Constitution Education Fund Australia.
In addition to imposing a ban on all children under the age of 14, South Australia would also require parental consent for children aged 14 and 15.
The government says the changes would be the first of their type in Australia, but would follow a growing number of global jurisdictions banning social media access for children, including Spain and the US states of Florida and Texas.
It says a recent survey by mental health service ReachOut found social media is the No. 1 issue of concern among parents and carers of children. The survey reported that 59 per cent said they were concerned about their child’s use of social media, and 55 per cent said social media had had a significant impact on their child’s wellbeing.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was concerned about social media’s impact on children.
“We are seeing mounting evidence from experts of the adverse impact of social media on children, their mental health and development,” he said.
“I am determined to ensure as a government we are doing everything we can to protect our children.
“As one of the nation’s pre-eminent legal minds, former Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French AC is well placed to conduct this nation-leading legal examination for South Australia.”
Founder and CEO of The Carly Ryan Foundation Sonya Ryan OAM said her organisation applauded the move.
“Social media presents a ‘profound risk of harm’ for kids,” she said.
“Children do not have the life experience or the cognitive and executive functioning to think through harmful situations online, sometimes placing themselves at real physical risk.
The Carly Ryan Foundation was established in 2010 and named in honour of a young woman who was groomed online for more than 18 months before being murdered in 2007. Carly’s mother, Sonya, set up the foundation to help prevent harm to other innocent children and families and help them navigate their online journey safely.
“Children are exposed to harmful content, including dangerous viral trends, pornography, online predators looking to sexually exploit them, cyberbullying and sextortion,” Ms Ryan said.
“Numerous studies show that social media use among young children is linked to adverse effects, including unrealistic expectations and perceptions which can lead to severe depression, anxiety, inadequate sleep, low self-esteem, poor body image, eating disorder behaviours and online harassment.
“In my opinion, the only way forward is to create appropriate legislation to protect our children from these harms and regulate big tech companies to include mandatory age verification across all platforms.”
