The federal communications minister, Anika Wells, has been named as one of Time magazine’s “world’s most influential rising stars” in recognition of her work on Australia’s under-16 social media ban and taking on big tech companies. Australia’s world-leading restrictions on social media for children, which came into force last year, have garnered international attention, with governments across Europe and Asia, and in some American states, enacting or proposing similar measures. Wells’ inclusion on the Time100 list of “leaders who are shaping the future” is the latest recognition of the Australian government’s efforts to regulate big tech – but comes amidst ongoing questions about the effectiveness of the ban and how it is being enforced by social media companies and Australian regulators.
Wells was named alongside a testimonial written by former Labor prime minister, Julia Gillard, who praised the communications minister for having “championed world-leading reforms to protect young people from the harms of social media”. The changes would allow social media account holders to opt out of the algorithms pushing dangerous and divisive content into users’ feeds, which is also generating backlash from big tech companies and political opponents. Sarah Henderson, the shadow communications minister, said in a statement: “Australians don’t judge ministers by glossy magazine lists, they judge them by their actions”.
She repeated criticisms of the social media ban, which she claimed had “failed”, as well as “draconian powers to control what Australians say and see online”. Also named on the list are the musicians Sombr and PinkPantheress, the soccer player Folarin Balogun, the US senator Andy Kim, the Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten, and Donald Trump’s political advisor James Blair. Australian musician Troye Sivan was also included on the “influential rising stars” list, with a testimonial written by Kylie Minogue.
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