Story perspectives

Australia’s Anika Wells joins Time’s 2026 Rising Stars list

By Drooid · Oct 1, 2026, 10:51 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Wells Leads Digital Reform

Australian Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells was named to Time’s 2026 “World’s Most Influential Rising Stars” list.
The under-16 social media ban, starting 10 December 2025, removed over 4.7 million accounts.
European, Asian governments and several U.S. states are now considering similar bans.
Wells is drafting a digital duty-of-care framework that lets users opt out of algorithmic feeds.

Summary

Wells Faces Audit Fallout

Wells repaid $10,116 after an audit found expense breaches for trips between 2022-2025.
She spent $90,000 on a 2025 New York trip to promote Australia’s under-16 social media ban.
She co-hosted a $69,000 “Protecting Children in Digital Age” event with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during U.S. visit.
Her husband Sam McCarthy’s flights to three AFL Grand Finals cost $7,000.
A $3,681 taxpayer-funded Adelaide trip included a meeting at a 40th birthday party.

History

Historical Context

In 1998, the United States Congress enacted the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, empowering the Federal Trade Commission to enforce child-data safeguards. The FTC subsequently fined 15,000 violators a total of $2.5 billion, demonstrating federal resolve to curb harmful digital practices. Australia’s 2025 under-16 social-media ban, championed by Minister Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, mirrors that early-century child-protection push. The precedent suggests that coordinated legal frameworks, like the EU’s 2022 Digital Services Act, will likely expand global algorithmic restrictions.

1 of 3

Wells Leads Digital Reform

Australian Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells was named to Time’s 2026 “World’s Most Influential Rising Stars” list.
The under-16 social media ban, starting 10 December 2025, removed over 4.7 million accounts.
European, Asian governments and several U.S. states are now considering similar bans.
Wells is drafting a digital duty-of-care framework that lets users opt out of algorithmic feeds.

1 / 3