Media Coverage & Commentary


SELECTED INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE – Quoted in:
2025Dog photos, VPNs, fake IDs: How Australian teens are beating social media ban,” MSN News, 11 December
2025Social media ban’s cultural shift could take a generation,” Daily Mail UK, 11 December
2025Bans on social media will be difficult to enforce – and may provide false sense of security,” (Michala Rask Mikkelsen), Danish Broadcasting Corporation, 10 December
2025How Australian teens are planning to get around their social media ban,” (James Woodford) New Scientist, 5 December
2025Monster hoaxes in the age of AI: Seeing isn’t believing anymore,” (Russell Moul), IFLS Investigates, 22 October
2025Australia warns social media platforms against age verification for all ahead of a ban on children,” (Rod McGuirk), Yahoo News, 16 September
2025Why Canada is ill-equipped to tackle the growing threat of fake science,” (Alexandra Keeler) Canadian Affairs, 29 August
2025Will Australia’s social media ban really keep teenagers safe online?” (James Woodford), New Scientist, 28 August
2025Australia to force Google to conduct age checks in world-first rules for search engines,” (Jonathan Pearlman) The Straits Times Singapore, 1 August
2025The age-checked internet has arrived,” (Matt Burgess) Wired Magazine UK, 25 July
2025Jetstar passenger request raises questions about popular menu items: ‘Do better,’ (Michael Dahlstrom), Yahoo!News, 16 May
2025Australia’s elections still ‘lag behind’ India on key issue: ‘This is a problem,’ (Michael Dahlstrom), Yahoo!News, 6 May
2024Governments are banning kids from social media: Will that protect them from harm?” (Gemma Conroy) Nature, 10 December
2024Digital dilemma: Australia’s social media dilemma” (Sam Johnson) Al Jazeera, 7 December
2024Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok brace for Australian social media ban fallout” (Angus Whitley, Newley Purnell, and Ben Westcott), NDTV World, 29 November
2024Social media is bad for kids. What’s being done about it?” (Peter Blumberg and Dana Wollman), Bloomberg BNN, 29 November
2024How Australia will (or won’t) keep children off social media.” New York Times (Yan Zhuang), 28 November
2024Can you stop a teen from using Tik Tok? Australia is about to find out.” Washington Post (Michael Miller), 28 November
2024Tik Tok, Meta brace for fallout from Australia’s social media ban” (Angus Whitley, Newley Purnell, and Ben Westcott), Bloomberg News, 26 November
2024I have your back, he told parents across the country. Now many snort his help: The Australian Prime Minister would be the savior of all mothers and fathers. But now he is fighting against the wind.” Politiken (Denmark) ((Emilie Maarbjerg Mørk), 17 November
2024Australia wants to ban social media for under-16s, but it won’t work.” New Scientist (James Woodford), 16 November
2024Prohibited for children under 16: Australia prepares world’s strictest social media rules: According to critics this is exactly how not to do it.” Weekendavisen (Denmark) (Peter Harmsmen), 14 November
2024Australia will impose a ‘digital duty of care’ on tech companies. A good idea – if it can be enforced” (Lisa Given), Straits Times (Singapore), 14 November
2024“Social media ban: Will Australia’s new age-based rules actually work?” MSN, The Week US/UK (Harriet Marsden), 8 November
2024South Australia is proposing a law to ban kids under 14 from social media. How would it work?” (Lisa Given; translated to Japanese) Project Design, 30 September
2024“Australia’s social media ban for minors: Has this worked elsewhere?” Al Jazeera (Dwayne Oxford), 19 September
2024“‘This is a scourge:’ Australia to set minimum age for children using social media.” National Post (Canada), 11 September
2024“Australia plans social media minimum age, citing mental health concerns.” (Michael Miller) Washington Post (USA), 10 September
2024“Tech bytes: New Australian AI safety standard lacks teeth, say RMIT experts.” Investing.com, 9 September
2024“More Taylor Swift fans see tickets disappear as Ticketek works ‘around the clock’ to curb scammers” (Laura Koefoed) Yahoo News, 8 February
2023“Is AI coming for our kids? Why the latest wave of pop-cultural tech anxiety should come as no surprise” (Lisa Given) Daily Maverick (South Africa), 14 September
2023“Google turns 25: The search engine revolutionised how we access information but will it survive AI?” (Lisa Given) Japan Today, 6 September
2023“Meta profiting off ads for drugs, counterfeit money, cloned credit cards & even live animals” (Tom Fogden), B&T, 6 September
2023“What can we do to counter the information crisis?” (Ruby Rawlins), Theoretically Communicating, 19 August
2023“La Muerte de las redes sociales” (Rodrigo Terras Gras) for El Mundo (Spain), 30 July
2023“AI and fake tweets: How to tank a share price in seconds” (Tom Watson), Money Matters, 2 June
2023“Experts divided on need for regulation of AI” (Dylan Bushell-Embling), Technology Decisions, 25 May
2023“Why AI regulation is critical: Three leading RMIT University academics speak out” (Robyn Foyster), Women Love Tech, 22 May
2019After 8 years of memes, videos, and role-playing, what now for Game of Thrones’ multimedia fans?” (Lisa Given) Business Daily, 21 May
SELECTED NATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE – Quoted in:
2025Under 16s social media ban sees rise in alternatives in app store,” (Ahmed Yussuf), ABC News, 23 December
2025Reddit challenges social media ban in court,” (Leonard Bernardone), Information Age, 16 December
2025 What do gaming influencers mean for tween boys?” (Marie Antoinette-Issa), Women Love Tech, 13 December
2025 Not a silver bullet: Government’s social media ban bounces teens offline,” (Emily Sweet), The Courier, 12 December
2025 Weeks wait for social media ban data to come online,” (Grace Crivellaro, Tess Ikonomou), The Canberra Times, 11 December
2025 How Europe is gearing up to follow Australian’s teen social media ban,” (Annabel Bowles), ABC News, 8 December
2025 Social media ban for under 16s sparks concerns over age check errors, facial scanning risks,” (Grace Crivellaro) The Nightly, 6 December
2025 The switch off for teenagers on social media looms,” (Jason Om) ABC 7.30, 25 November
2025 Adelaide teenager calls out gaming giants as bullied players demand change,” (Lauren Thomson) 7News Online, 23 November
2025 Child safety experts call for Roblox to be included in Australia’s social media age ban over grooming fears,” 7News, 14 November
2025 Melbourne experts flag gaming exemption as social media ban overlooks key threat, Beat, 13 November
2025 Google and Bing want to know how old you are,” (Sam Buckingham-Jones), Australian Financial Review, 9 November.
2025 ‘No playbook’: eSafety boss backs social media ban despite expert warnings,” (David Swan), The Age, 9 October
2025 Social media ban could extend to Roblox, WhatsApp,” (Grace Stranger), ABC Radio National Breakfast, 26 September
2025 Porn access in Australia set for major shake-up,” (Andrew Bucklow), The Herald Sun, 25 September
2025 Revealed: The AI breakthrough changing how Aussie companies work,” (Marcus de Blonk Smith), The Herald Sun, 18 September
2025 Social media age verification possible but laden with risks, landmark study warns,” (Tom Crowley) ABC News, 31 August
2025 AI needs regulatory balance, experts say,” (Bridget Fitzgerald) ABC News, The World Today, 6 August
2025 Australians will soon have to verify age before using Google search,” (Frank Chung) The Herald Sun, 11 July
2025 Anthony Albanese’s strict new internet rules about to come into force: What you need to know,” (Matt Jones), The Daily Mail, 11 July
2025 Australia is quietly introducing ‘unprecedented’ age checks for search engines like Google,” ABC News, 11 July
2025Australia’s social media ban has been designed on the fly. Is it time to delay take-off?” (Claudia Long), ABC News, 25 June
2025 Trial finds age assurance can be done, as under-16s social media ban deadline looms,” (Maani Truu), ABC News, 20 June
2025 Age verification tool for social media ban misidentifies teens as 37-year-olds” in ABC TV News, 19 June
2025 Six months out from teen social media ban, age-checking tech mistakes kids for 37-year-olds” (Ange Lavoipierre and Angela Heathcote), ABC News, 19 June
2025 Google is rolling out its Gemini AI chatbot to kids under 13. It’s a risky move” (Lisa Given), The Canberra Times, 9 May
2025Google AI Chatbot, Gemini, to be available to Aussie kids under 13 within months” (Ange Lavoipierre), ABC News, 9 May
2025 Reuse vs landfill? The question for Australia’s mountain of election waste,” (Jimmy Parker), Bega District News, 7 May
2025 Can we cut the reams of waste in election paper trail?” (Abe Maddison), The Mandarin, 7 May
2025 Corflute chaos: What are the rules around election mess?” (Sarah Morice), ABC Listen, 6 May
2025 Instagram bans teens from livestreaming,” ABC NewsRadio, 9 April
2024Social media ban won’t stop online risks, experts warn” (Australian Associated Press), Daily Mail, 2 December
2024 Social media ban ‘dangerous’ and ‘clumsy’ tech experts warn” (Jared Lynch), The Australian (Business Review), 29 November
2024Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 just became law. How it will work remains a mystery” (Lisa Given), ABC News, 29 November
2024Why your words and photos might already be training AI.” Canberra Times (Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson), 24 November
2024 Social media ban: Details releasedABC PM (Kathleen O’Connor), 21 November
2024 Explained: Social media inquiry calls for education and potential tax as Albanese govt prepares ban.” The New Daily (Matthew Elmas), 20 November
2024 Social media giants to get in line over online harms.” SBS In Depth Podcast (Sydney Lang), 18 November
2024Baby Shark won’t bite: YouTube entertainers issue plea.” Blue Mountains Gazette (Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson), 9 November
2024 Canberra takes on big tech – and Gen Alpha – with social media bansAustralian Financial Review (Paul Smith), 8 November
2024 16-year-old age limit on social media will be legislated.” Girl.Com.Au, 8 November
2024 What Trump 2.0 means for Australia.” The Crikey Worm (Rich James), 8 November
2024 Australia can’t shy away from social media reforms.” Australian Associated Press (Dominic Giannini and Tess Ikonomou), 8 November
2024“‘The bot will see you now:’ Why AI could be the new HR.” Daily Mail (Australian Associated Press), 28 September
2024 “Pros and cons of media switch off.” Yorke Peninsula Country Times (Sarah Herrmann), 24 September
2024 “Social media experts poke holes in Meta’s new protections for teens” SBS News (Sam Dover), 18 September
2024 “Revealed: The number of children being groomed online.” The Age (David Crowe), 17 September
2024 “Amy Ballinger, bullied at school, wants young teens banned from social media.” ABC News Online (Cindy Wockner), 15 September
2024 Government hammers big tech with barrage of new lawsSydney Morning Herald (David Crowe and Paul Sakkal), 11 September
2024 “Privacy law calls as Meta admits farming Aussie photos.” The Daily Mail (Australian Associated Press), 11 September
2024 “Children promised a say on social media age ban plans.” The Daily Mail (Australian Associated Press),11 September
2024 Are social media restrictions possible?ABC PM (Annie Guest), 10 September
2024 “Council culture wars continue with another proposed book ban.” (Parker McKenzie) The New Daily, 5 September
2024 “‘Flawed approach:’ Experts weigh in on Dutton’s pledge to ban social media for teens.” (Adam Vidler) Channel 9 News, 17 June
2024 “Artificial intelligence tells Google users to eat rocks,” ABC Listen, 24 May
2024“Cumberland Council’s book ban has been overturned, but what is really happening in Australian libraries?” (Lisa Given) ABC News, 18 May
2024“What would happen if Australia were to ban social media altogether?” (Claudia Forsberg) ABC News, 7 May
2024An American journalist read her own obituary online, and soon discovered the strange world of obit pirates” (Lucia Stein) ABC News, 27 April
2024“Dungeons & Dragons at 50: The collaborative fantasy role-playing game that builds you up” (Jordyn Beazley and Rafqa Touma) The Guardian, 10 March
2024“Five decades fantasy roleplaying, Dungeons and Dragons celebrates birthday” (James Parker) Bega District News, 3 March
2024“Role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons still a space for community and camaraderie 50 years after its release” (Daniel Miles) ABC News, 24 February
2024“How Taylor Swift can explain the AI’s risk on the music industry” (Amy Martin) Canberra Times, 20 February
2024Swiftenomics: Australian leg of Eras Tour expected to generate $136 million in activity” (Kimberley Price) ABC News, 10 January
2024‘Look what you made me do’: RMIT will open up the floor to academics and fans alike in a public Taylor Swift ‘Fanposium’ event next month” (Clareese Packer) news.com.au, 8 January
2023“Learn to forget? How to rein in a rogue Chatbot” (Joseph Boyle) news.com.au, 8 December
2023“Privacy act amendments: What you need to know” (Stephen Corbey) In the Black, 1 November
2023“Esperance author Fleur McDonald says US database Books3 “stole” literature to build AI linguistic software” (Andrew Chounding), ABC News, 11 October
2023“AI promises to revolutionise the public service, but only if it plays by our rules” (Brad Howarth), The Mandarin, 3 October
2023“X ditches political lie detector” (Liz Maddock), SBS News, 29 September
2023“Why Meta’s threads app is the biggest threat to Twitter yet” (Lisa Given) ABC News Analysis, 7 July
2023“A myth-busting guide to how Taylor Swift’s ticketing system actually works” (Kerrie O’Brien), Sydney Morning Herald, 29 June
2023“Staggering number of fans waiting for Swift tickets breaks record – as Ticketek repels half a billion bots” (Chantelle Francis & Rebecca Borg), Herald Sun, 28 June
2023“Will buying Twitter verification increase misinformation?” (Nick Grimm & Jacqueline Breen), ABC News, 21 April
2023“Experts say AI scams are on the rise as criminals use voice cloning, phishing and technologies like ChatGPT to trick people” (Tom Williams) ABC News, 12 April
2023“Balenciaga Pope might not have been real but its impact is,” (Michelle Elias), SBS The Feed, 29 March
2016“Wine industry research seeking lower alcohol content” (Stephen Burns), The Land, 22 May
2016“Poor form on backpackers spreading on social networks” (Ashley Walmsley) Good Fruit & Vegetables, 15 May
2016“Pre-election social faux pas: @CanberraLibs break 264-day Twitter silence” (Georgina Connery) The Canberra Times, 8 May
2014“Constant correspondence would have helped lockdown panic: Social media expert” (Nicole Kuter) Central Western Daily, 9 August