Wallace, Radio Stars Join Together in Fight for Social Media Reform

The Deputy Chair of Parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee, Andrew Wallace, supports 36 Months in their campaign, and has been advocating for raising the age of social media access for many years.

Under the former Coalition Government, the Sunshine Coast MP led the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, leading to the historic Protecting the Age of Innocence report in 2020 which called for age verification for online pornography and online gambling. 

Now a member of Parliament’s committee on social media and Australian society, Mr Wallace is pushing for social media giants to pay the price for allowing access to children under the age of 16. He says, “They'll give you every reason under the sun why it's too hard, and they'll give you every justification as to what they're doing, but the fact is that big tech are not doing enough to keep kids safe online.” 

“At the same time, we’ve had to drag the Prime Minister, kicking and screaming to this point, and every step of the way we have found the Government reluctant to step up and make the tough decisions,” Mr Wallace continues.

“Meanwhile, from Opposition, the Coalition has put legislation on the table - going back as early as November of last year – to make 16 the minimum age for access to social media. Nearly a year later, the Prime Minister has had his revolutionary moment, and in true Albanese style, it’s now all his idea. However, months after his conversion on the issue, we have nothing but stalled progress and media conferences, and now we’ve learned that the trial will be voluntary.”

“The Prime Minister has said on the record that he agrees with limiting access to 16 years of age; now he’s talking about reducing it to 14 years old. Over the back and forth, the dithering and delays, and the refusal to take a position makes it all look like tokenism at best. It’s a total capitulation to big tech,” Mr Wallace added.

“Social media is dangerous. It exacerbates eating disorders and mental illness; it’s used by predators to extort and exploit kids and vulnerable Australians; it enables cyber-bullying and violence; and it can be a vehicle for radicalisation and foreign interference. Unfortunately, it’s not until parents and families experience these harms that they understand how urgent and how dangerous these harms really are.”

Mr Wallace added, “Last week, we hear that the Prime Minister is considering allowing some social media platforms to have an exemption if they can ‘demonstrate a blow risk of harm to children.’ What? What planet is the Prime Minister on?”