South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas has appointed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert French AC to explore the legal, regulatory and technological options for his government to impose a ban within the state's constitutional framework.
Under the proposal, parents would also have to give permission if children aged 14 and 15 get access to a social media account.
“Like most parents, I am concerned about the impact social media is having on children in our community,” Malinauskas said in a statement Sunday.
'We are seeing increasing evidence from experts about the negative impact of social media on children, their mental health and development.
“I am determined to ensure that as a government we do everything we can to protect our children.”
Most social media platforms require users to be at least 13 years old to register an account, but the age limit can be easily circumvented.
The proposed changes would be a first in Australia and follow legal restrictions on children using social media accounts in Spain and the US states of Florida and Texas.
A survey of 631 parents and caregivers by Australian mental health organization ReachOut in April 2023 found that 59 percent were concerned about their teenagers' use of social media.
Sonya Ryan, who set up a foundation in her 15-year-old daughter Carly's name after she was murdered by an online predator posing as a teenage boy, said social media poses a high risk of harm to children.
“Children do not have the life experience or cognitive and executive functioning to think through harmful situations online, sometimes putting them at real physical risk,” said the founder and CEO of The Carly Ryan Foundation.
“In my view, the only way forward is to create appropriate legislation to protect our children from these harms and regulate big tech companies to introduce mandatory age verification on all platforms.”
By Callum Godde