Key Factors
- A report by a former Excessive Courtroom chief proposes introducing laws banning kids underneath 14 from social media.
- The legislation would additionally require corporations to achieve parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds to make use of their platforms.
- South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has mentioned he expects social media corporations to withstand such laws.
Social media giants shall be slapped with “harsh” fines if they permit kids underneath 14 to create accounts and danger lawsuits from mother and father of kids that suffer hurt, underneath draft South Australian legal guidelines the federal government says are appropriate for all jurisdictions.
A report by former Excessive Courtroom Chief Justice Robert French launched on Sunday features a draft invoice with the legislative framework to ban kids underneath 14 from social media.
The proposed laws would additionally require corporations to achieve parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds to make use of their platforms.
Whereas releasing the report on Sunday, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas mentioned the invoice would create a systemic social duty on platforms akin to Fb, Instagram and TikTok to make sure they undertake all affordable steps to forestall kids from getting entry.
“That is an obligation that’s on the social media corporations themselves which is precisely, in fact, what we all know they’ll resist,” he mentioned.
If permitted, the South Australia Youngsters (Social Media Security) Invoice 2024 could be the primary of its variety in Australia and would impose a “constructive obligation and obligation” on social media platforms.
The system could be overseen by a regulator liable for monitoring compliance and issuing sanctions in opposition to social media platforms, together with permitting mother and father to sue for damages if their baby was harmed as a result of a supplier had breached their obligation underneath the act.
The implications for suppliers could be “extreme and harsh”, Malinauskas mentioned.
“The regulator can undertake motion and in addition, on the most extreme finish, pursue civil penalties of a seven-figure sum or extra in opposition to these platforms within the occasion that they break the legislation,” he mentioned.
“We wish to create a giant, large deterrent in opposition to these big corporations the place they do hurt to our youngsters.”
French’s report notes that whereas it’s legally doable for South Australia to create its personal regulator, the timeline could be “vital”.
“An alternate method could be to safe the settlement of the Commonwealth to confer a brand new state-based regulatory perform upon the Commonwealth eSafety Commissioner,” Mr French wrote.
His report additionally recommends a class of exempt social media, the place there may be low danger or advantages for customers, akin to instructional apps.
French additionally famous no regime was excellent and making certain compliance could be difficult as a result of it required age assurance measures, location measures and, the place relevant, verification of parental consent.
“There’ll undoubtedly be workarounds by educated baby customers,” he mentioned.
“Nonetheless, the proper shouldn’t be the enemy of the great.
“A useful impact of the legislation could also be to arm mother and father with the proposition that it’s the legislation, not them, that restricts entry to social media for youngsters in South Australia.”
Malinauskas mentioned the proposal with different premiers, chief ministers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a gathering of the nationwide cupboard on Friday, when he made clear the state Labor authorities’s choice was to collaborate.
The South Australian and NSW governments are staging a two-day summit in October centered on exploring and addressing the impacts of social media.
