South Australia may become the first jurisdiction in Australia, and one of the first in the world, to ban children under 14 from social media with the State Government launching an examination of how it could be done. It's a move which premier Peter Malinauskas hopes will support youth mental health but not all experts agree a blanket ban is the best approach.
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00:00If the South Australian Premier gets his way, social media could be regulated, much like
00:07cigarettes and alcohol.
00:09We have always sought to regulate, limit access to products or services that do young people
00:16harm.
00:17It is now time for us to think about mobile phones and excessive social media use in the
00:23same context.
00:24Peter Malinowskis is suggesting the state could ban kids under 14 from social media.
00:31But it won't happen right away.
00:32First, former High Court Chief Justice Robert French will conduct a legal review into whether
00:38the state could do it.
00:40It's a move which is backed by some child safety advocates who say a law change could
00:45make it easier for parents.
00:47For parents to be able to say to children across the board, I'm sorry we can't do this,
00:52it's not legal.
00:53It takes that pressure off parents.
00:56Many social media outlets have an age limit, which should mean that children under 13 can't
01:01sign up.
01:02But Mr Malinowskis says these rules don't go far enough to protect young people.
01:08There are rules from the social media companies but they don't police them.
01:11We know that.
01:13So that's why we need to make laws and rules that we can police.
01:16If the South Australian government goes ahead with a ban after their investigation, laws
01:21would be the first of its kind in Australia.
01:24Comparable laws are already being introduced overseas in places like Florida in the United
01:28States.
01:30But some experts don't support a blanket ban.
01:33We need to acknowledge that young people do have a right to be online and to participate
01:38online and to derive many of the benefits that they get from being online.
01:43While children under 14 would be banned, the proposed laws would also mean 14 and 15 year
01:48olds would need parental consent to use social media.