The evidence supporting the South Australian government’s move to ban social media accounts for young teenagers will be detailed at a joint summit in Sydney and Adelaide in October.
Responding to mounting concern about the adverse impact of social media on children, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas in May appointed a former High Court chief justice to examine how his government could effectively impose a social media ban on teenagers younger than 14.
Since then, premiers of NSW, Queensland and Victoria have also declared support for restricting children’s access to social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
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On Wednesday, Malinauskas and NSW Premier Chris Minns said their joint two-day summit would bring together senior officials, policy makers and academics, as well as representatives of leading social media platforms and digital technologies.
“This summit will present a significant opportunity for parents to understand the scientific evidence underpinning our decision and hear ideas on how to improve the wellbeing of our most important resource — our children,” Malinauskas said.
Minns has said he wants to increase the minimum age of social media users to 16.
“It is a global unregulated experiment on young people and, at best, it’s a giant time-suck for the next generation and, at worst, it’s hugely detrimental to their mental health and wellbeing,” he said on Wednesday.
“The harm it’s doing for young people is so profound.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously backed the SA government’s move, saying parents are “worried sick” about what their children can access online, but any age requirement initiatives must be proven to be effective.
In the May budget, the federal government committed $6.5 million to pilot “age-assurance technologies” by testing their effectiveness and investigating how they could work.
The NSW government will host the first day of the summit at the ICC Sydney on October 10, with the SA government hosting the second day in Adelaide on October 11.
It will inform policies and explore themes including formulating a public health response, addressing social media harms in schools, understanding the role of social media in identity, belonging and worldviews, and unpacking links between extremism, misogyny and social media.