Premier Roger Cook wants social media “out of young kids lives” – but has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take the lead on a nationwide ban on children accessing platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
The comments come amid growing support across the country for imposing much tougher age restrictions on the use of social media.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas ignited the debate last week when appointing former High Court chief justice Robert French to examine whether it was possible to prevent kids under the age of 14 from having social media accounts.
On Monday, NSW Premier Chris Minns set the bar even higher – saying he wanted to limit access to over 16s only – and announcing a “social media summit” to discuss the concept in October.
While declining to nominate a cut-off age, Mr Cook said banning children from social media “absolutely has merit” but was policy “better addressed at a national level”.
“It’s something I’ve written to the Prime Minister about and it’s something which has been raised in National Cabinet before as well,” the Premier said.
“I think this is absolutely a conversation we need to have.
“We all know of someone who’s been impacted negatively by social media. And we’d like to see it out of young kids lives.”
Mr Cook said “good expert advice” was needed to set the threshold but that it was important to cocoon “young brains” from the harmful aspects of social media.
“People should be able to grow up, be kids,” he said.
“Social media, of course, takes that opportunity from them. It exposes them to images, to opinions, and to a range of content which young people should just not be seeing.”
The perils of social media were thrown into sharp focus in WA earlier this month amid revelations a Rossmoyne Senior High School student that stabbed an innocent man had been radicalised by Islamist content he viewed online.
The 16-year-old was shot dead by police shortly after the attack, which he described as going “on the path of jihad” in text messages to friends.
![Premier Roger Cook speaks to media during the Perth Zoo Primate Crossing Announcement on May 20, 2024. Matt Jelonek](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/8d940506baf1af9bf0d9296d4ffacd893550fcec.jpg)
Mr Cook said it was vital to “strike a balance” between allowing children to develop connections online and “the need for their social and emotional wellbeing”.
WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam agreed a legislative response needed to be considered.
“We know the significant mental health impacts on our youth as a result of social media,” she said.
“It will be about looking at how privacy can be managed and the efficacy of such a ban.”
The Premier of Queensland and Victoria – Steven Miles and Jacinta Allen – on Monday also threw their support behind limiting social media access for children.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Commonwealth was already preparing the groundwork for a ban through a recent $6.5 million age verification trial and a recently announced inquiry into the conduct of the tech giants running social media platforms.
“We want to make sure that any measures that are put in place are effective, because one of the concerns is… that age protocols may be circumvented by users at the moment,” he said.
TikTok, X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram all require users to be at least 13 years old – although the limit is not legally enforced.
Cybersecurity expert Paul Litherland on Monday told The West Australian he supported a ban for under 14s but that the tech giants also needed to take more responsibility for policing their own age restrictions.
“What are the networks doing to stop an 11-year-old joining their systems?” Mr Litherland said.
“I just don’t think they’re doing enough — which is sadly why we need to look at legislation, because they’re not acting.”