HIGHLIGHTS:
- A report by a former Supreme Court chief justice proposes introducing legislation banning children under 14 from using social media.
- The law would also require companies to obtain parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to use their platforms.
- South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has said he anticipates resistance to the proposed laws from social media companies.
Social media giants will face “severe” fines if they allow children under 14 to create accounts and risk lawsuits from parents of children who suffer harm, under a bill introduced in South Australia – a proposal the government says is suitable for all jurisdictions.A report by former Chief Justice Robert French released on Sunday includes a draft bill with the legislative framework to ban social media use by children under 14.The proposed legislation would also require companies to obtain parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to use their platforms.Releasing the report on Sunday, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the bill would create systemic social accountability on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to ensure they take all reasonable steps to prevent children from gaining access.“This is an obligation that falls on the social media companies themselves, which is exactly, of course, what we know they will resist,” he said.If passed, South Australia’s Child Social Media Safety Bill 2024 would be the first of its kind in Australia and would impose a “positive obligation and duty” on social media platforms.The system would be overseen by a regulator responsible for monitoring compliance and issuing sanctions against social media platforms, including allowing parents to sue for damages if their child was harmed because a provider breached its duty under the law.
The consequences for suppliers would be “severe and firm,” Malinauskas said.
“The regulator can take action and also, in the most severe case, seek civil penalties of a seven-figure sum or more against these platforms should they break the law,” he added.“We want to create a big, massive deterrent against these giant companies when they harm our children.”French’s report notes that while it is legally possible for South Australia to create its own regulator, the timeframe would be “significant”.“An alternative approach would be to secure Commonwealth agreement to confer a new state regulatory function on the Commonwealth eSafety Commissioner,” French wrote.Their report also recommends a category of exempt social media where there is low risk or benefits to users, such as educational apps.French also noted that no regime is perfect and that ensuring compliance would be challenging because it requires age assurance measures, location measures and, where appropriate, verification of parental consent.“One beneficial effect of the law may be to arm parents with the affirmation that it is the law, not them, that restricts access to social media for children in South Australia.”Malinauskas discussed the proposal with other premiers, chief ministers and Premier Anthony Albanese at a National Cabinet meeting on Friday, making clear the state Labor government’s preference was to collaborate.The governments of South Australia and New South Wales are hosting a two-day summit in October focused on exploring and addressing the impacts of social media.
