Yesterday’s press conference in Canberra saw 36 Months join forces with grieving parents and FINCH and Supermassive representatives as Anthony Albanese addressed the government’s decision to raise the minimum social media age from 13 to 16.
The initiative reached a milestone yesterday when the Prime Minister confirmed government support for the higher age limit, answering the campaign’s call for stronger protections for young Australians online, and acknowledged the work of 36 Months.
The campaign, co-founded by Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and FINCH’s Rob Galluzzo, has sparked a national conversation on protecting young Australians online.
With a multi-channel strategy across radio, news media, and social platforms, 36 Months’ goal was to create an unignorable chorus of voices of families, mental health experts, and educators, creating widespread support for setting the minimum social media age at 16. It also included the biggest change.org petition in the world on this issue with 125k signatures, and an open letter from the tech and media industry.
Grieving parents Rob Evans, father of Liv, 15 who died by suicide and Matt Howard and Kelly O’Brien whose daughter Charlotte passed away in September following bullying and social media-related issues attended the press conference, supported by FINCH and Supermassive advocates.. Campaign advocate Felicity McVay, former TikTok Global head of entertainment and Dr Danielle Einstein, clinical psychologist and adjunct fellow, Macquarie University, were also present.
“Our aim was to create a campaign that was as grounded in real-life stories as it was urgent in its message. Seeing this resonate in Parliament yesterday was a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when people unite behind a cause. Whilst this is a milestone to celebrate, we’re not going to ‘declare victory’ just yet,” said Rob Galluzzo, founder of FINCH.
“Legislation still needs to be drafted, introduced to Parliament, debated, voted on and passed into law. Until that happens, we will continue to apply the needed pressure to finish the job. I’d like to thank our sponsors Hyundai, Medibank and KitKat who jumped on board a fast-moving train to help us fund the campaign, we couldn’t have done it without them,” added Galluzzo.
“The 36 Months campaign has shown how focused strategy, a clear purpose and an incredible team who can think on their feet can mobilise people for real change. On a day of division in the US, yesterday’s meetings with the Prime Minister and Peter Dutton demonstrated that this issue matters to all Australians everywhere. There is work to do towards ensuring this momentum results in lasting, effective legislation, and culture change,” said Simone Gupta, co-founder of Supermassive.
FINCH and Supermassive’s collaboration has brought the 36 Month’s campaign’s message into homes and communities across Australia, delivering a compelling case for stronger protections for young people in the digital space. With the objective of policy change now secured 36 Months will turn its sights towards behaviour change, education and ongoing advocacy for healthy teen development.
