Crossed wires
In her first months as communications minister, Anika Wells has acted decisively on Labor’s world-first social media ban. But industry figures remain wary of her approach.
As Optus was dealing with yet another national crisis, Communications Minister Anika Wells was in New York for the UN General Assembly to deliver an address on the government’s teen social media ban.
Her absence at home while a company in her portfolio was engulfed in chaos took some executives still trying to figure her out by surprise. More interesting to others was her willingness to “stick her head above the parapet” on a policy that they assumed would surely catch the unwanted attention of US President Donald Trump.
During her US trip, Wells met with executives from Microsoft and Meta, according to a person with knowledge of her schedule. Both companies will be affected by Labor’s various tech reforms. She also met with a number of her international counterparts.
These meetings capped off her first few months as communications minister at a time when policymakers around the world are watching Australia closely to see how the world’s biggest tech companies respond to its world-first teen social media ban.
