Tech companies face ‘heavy’ fines, lawsuits from parents under SA plan to ban children from social media | Social Media

Social media companies will face “heavy” fines if they allow children under 14 to create accounts and risk legal action from parents of children who are harmed, according to a proposed South Australian bill that the government says is suitable for all jurisdictions.

A report by former Chief Justice Robert French released on Sunday lays out a bill that would create a legal framework to keep children under 14 off social media and require companies to get parental consent before allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to use their platforms.

During the report’s release on Sunday, South Africa’s Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas said the bill would create a systemic social responsibility on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to ensure they take all reasonable steps to prevent children from accessing them.

“This is an obligation that falls on the social media companies themselves, and that is exactly what we know they will resist,” he said.

If passed, the South African Children (Social Media Safety) Bill 2024 would be the first of its kind in Australia and would impose a “positive obligation and duty” on social media platforms.

The system would be overseen by a regulator that would monitor compliance and impose sanctions on social media platforms. For example, parents could claim damages if their child suffered harm because a provider failed to meet its obligations under the law.

The consequences for providers would be “serious and harsh,” Malinauskas said.

“The regulator can take action and, in extreme cases, impose civil fines of seven figures or more on these platforms in the event that they violate the law,” he said.

“We want to create a massive, massive deterrent against these giant corporations that are harming our children.”

French’s report says that while it is legally possible for South Africa to establish its own regulator, the timeline for this would be “significant”.

“An alternative approach would be to obtain Commonwealth agreement to grant a new state-based regulatory function to the Commonwealth eSafety Commissioner,” French wrote.

In his report, he also recommends a category of social media that are exempt and where the risks or benefits to users are low, such as educational apps.

French also noted that no regime is perfect and that ensuring compliance would be difficult, as age assurance measures, location measures and, where applicable, verification of parental consent would be required.

“There will undoubtedly be solutions for well-informed child users,” he said.

“However, the perfect must not be the enemy of the good.

“A beneficial effect of the law may be to arm parents with the argument that it is the law, not them, that restricts children’s access to social media in South Australia.”

Malinauskas discussed the proposal with other premiers, chief ministers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a national cabinet meeting on Friday, making it clear that the South African Labor government prefers cooperation.

The governments of South Australia and New South Wales are hosting a two-day summit in October focused on examining and addressing the impacts of social media.