Kids and teenagers under 14 in south Australia could be banned from accessing social media platforms. The SA government has brought in a former high court justice to examine legal pathways to impose the ban. But at least one expert has questioned whether it's a good idea. South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says a ban would help young people improve their mental health.
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00:00 The excessive use of social media within of itself is actually doing harm to our young
00:06 people's mental health and then at the more extreme end what we start to see is illicit
00:11 content having a particularly bad effect.
00:13 Now what all that adds up to is amounting into some real world statistics.
00:18 We're seeing a dramatic spike in childhood depression, childhood anxiety at its most
00:23 extreme end.
00:24 We've seen evidence of youth suicide and I think we're sort of at the point now that
00:28 governments have to act.
00:30 As governments we regularly intervene in regulating products and services where we determine that
00:36 it's doing children harm.
00:38 I just don't see social media being any different.
00:42 It's not about being a troglodyte or anything but I think it's about making sure that for
00:47 children under the age of 14 they're not getting access to these platforms where we know it's
00:52 doing them harm and then for 14 and 15 year olds we say it should occur with parental
00:56 consent and I think that's within our capability.
00:59 I don't want to be naive about the fact that there are going to be difficulties associated
01:04 with this but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and do something about it.
01:08 And I think we're past the time now where we can just sit on our hands and cross our
01:12 fingers that the altruism of big massive tech giants is going to see us through here.
01:19 I just don't believe that's the case.
01:21 I think that governments have a responsibility to regulate in this area notwithstanding the
01:27 difficulties and we've got to start working our way through the issues.
01:29 Now we've made clear what our objective is.
01:32 We think it's motivated by not just an emotional response but rather evidence that says we've
01:39 got a problem and I also would draw your viewers to the fact that other parts of the world
01:44 are now doing this.
01:45 I mean Florida's passed legislation, signed into law coming into effect on the 1st of
01:49 January next year to do exactly what we want to do in South Australia.
01:52 Now it's going to be legally difficult, it's going to be technologically difficult but
01:55 we've got to start.
01:57 Otherwise we're just putting ourselves in a position where tens of thousands upon young
02:03 people aren't experiencing childhood in the way that is most healthy to their development.
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