As the Australian Government moves to raise the minimum age for social media to 16, this episode of Global Game Changers, will explore what the legislation could mean for young people, families, educators and the platforms themselves.

We’ll explore how this policy is expected to be implemented, what age verification might look like in practice, and the challenges it raises around privacy, rights and enforcement.

Bringing together insights from leading UTS academics, frontline youth advocates and policy makers, the discussion will examine the broader social, ethical and digital implications, from mental health and online identity to inclusion and digital literacy.

This timely conversation asks: how do we create a safer online world, without losing what makes it empowering?

Meet our Host and Speakers:

Host

Kumi Taguchi

Kumi Taguchi is a highly respected and prominent Australian journalist, television presenter, and broadcaster. She is known for her calm and empathetic interviewing style, versatility across different media platforms, and her commitment to thoughtful journalism. Kumi became the host of SBS's flagship current affairs discussion program, Insight, in 2021. This role is a perfect fit for her, allowing her to facilitate deep, nuanced discussions on complex social issues with diverse groups of people. Her ability to listen, draw out personal stories, and maintain a respectful tone is a hallmark of her hosting style.

Speakers

Julie Inman Grant

Julie Inman Grant is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. In this role, Julie leads the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online. As Commissioner, Julie plays an important global role as Chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s Technical Working Group and as a Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. The Commissioner also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety and on their XR Ecosystem Governance Steering Committee on Building and Defining the Metaverse.

Rana Ebrahimi

Rana Ebrahimi, National Manager of MYAN, champions the rights of refugee and migrant youth and is an expert in social inclusion, influencing policy and practice. She is the first Iranian woman to serve as National Head of Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iran. She is a recipient of the Multicultural Award of Excellence and has been recognized as a Rotary Champion of Change. She is currently treasurer of Conversation at the Crossroad and Refugee Education Australia.

Rosie Thomas OAM

Rosie Thomas OAM is Executive Director and Co-founder of PROJECT ROCKIT which she launched with her sister when she was fresh out of high school, and has dedicated the last 14 years to growing Australia’s youth-driven movement against bullying, hate and prejudice. PROJECT ROCKIT has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of young people and now serves as the go-to youth cyber-safety partner of Google, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Marian-Andrei Riziou

Dr Marian-Andrei Rizoiu is an Associate Professor leading the Behavioral Data Science lab at the University of Technology Sydney. His interdisciplinary research crosses computer and social sciences, blending psycholinguistics, digital communication and stochastic modelling to understand human attention dynamics in the online environment, the emergence of influence and opinion polarization.

Amelia Johns

Amelia Johns is Associate Professor and Acting Head of Discipline in Digital and Social Media, in the School of Communication, Faculty of Design and Society. She is an affiliate of the Centre for Media Transition and is on the Advisory Board of The Trustworthy Digital Society. Her recent work has focused on misinformation, platform governance and trust on WhatsApp and other platforms.