Transcript - 2SM Mornings - 25 November 2025

Melissa McIntosh MP 
Shadow Minister for Communications 
Shadow Minister for Women 
Federal Member for Lindsay 

25 November 2025

Transcript 

2SM Mornings with Chris Smith

Topics: Social media; digital ID; BOM website.  

E&EO … 

Chris Smith

Well, you'd think that if a government is going to ban kids under 16 from social media, they'd at least know which platforms are actually involved, right? But no, here we are, 15 days from impact, parents scrambling, school scratching their heads, and the eSafety Commissioner pipes up to say, oh, by the way, Twitch is a banned platform as well. Twitch, a platform used by hundreds of thousands of young Aussies and it gets 15 days’ notice. Not even enough time for a fortnight update. Meanwhile, Meta says they're pulling the plug early on December 4th and they'll be asking kids for government ID to prove their age. Digital ID for teenagers. Which is rather awkward because although big tech is heading into a digital ID realm, the Communications Minister, Anika Wells went on Instagram this week with a little myth busting video, solemnly declaring, and I quote, that government ID would not be required.

Anika Wells

Here's a good question from Angela. What's the assurance that we won't be forced to upload our ID to access social media? It's stressing me out. Well, Angela, I can unequivocally rule that out. The law states that social media platforms cannot require you to upload your government ID. Do you have more myths about Australia's social media minimum age laws that you'd like me to bust? Pop them in the comments below.

Boy, oh boy. Joining me now is the Shadow Communications Minister, someone who's been warning for months that this whole rollout is a shambles. Melissa McIntosh, welcome to the Super Radio Network.

Melissa McIntosh

Thanks. Thank you for having me on from a not very sunny Canberra.

Smith

Yes, you've got a bad day weather wise, have you?

McIntosh

Oh, yeah, it's very overcast. It might be reflective of the mood.

Smith

Yes, you all just want to get out of there, you see, and have that break for Christmas, no doubt. Alright, Minister Anika Wells posted that myth busting reel on Instagram. She looked straight down the camera, and she told Australians, young Australians, that government ID would not be required. Meta has confirmed it will. What's the truth?

McIntosh

This is classic Labor and very much this Minister, I think she should bust the myth that she's anyway decent at her job. She does this all the time in her portfolio. Lying to the Australian people is just not on. And we know now because Meta has said that they're going to compel people to use digital ID.

It's actually in the powers of the eSafety Commissioner. When I met with her, I asked her that and she said, yes, I do have those powers, but I don't intend to use them, which is pretty extraordinary. Oh well, great, okay, if you intend to, at some point in time, let us all know. And that point in time seems to be in a couple weeks time.

And Australians hate this. They hate this idea. My emails and phone calls to my office, we're getting overwhelmed by Australians saying they don't want to have to produce digital ID …

Smith

No.

McIntosh

Which is fair enough. This was never part of the deal. We want to protect Australian children, but this is taking it too far. And as you said in your opening, I have been warning about this and the fact that the Minister’s still deny it is, you know, it's not on. It's trying to hoodwink the Australian people yet again.

Smith

Well, the communication lines between big tech and government seem to have been worn out already because they're not on the same page. I don't get it and I'm sorry, but digital ID is a no, no. I don't want to be in a leash connected to government.

McIntosh

Well, that's right. And also, where your data gets stored. These are big multinational companies. Where's the transparency in people's information?

Smith

Yeah.

McIntosh

I'm sure it's not getting stored here in Australia. And what happens to that data? So that's pretty disrespectful of the Australian people. We've been pushing hard for a long time. This wasn't part of the deal when it came to the under 16 ban, but this is where we're at and we've just got to keep the fight up because we can't let the government and the eSafety Commissioner and big tech get away with nicking off with people's data.

Smith

You've already said to me on this program that this whole concept has been rushed. That's the first sign that it has. The second sign is that 15 days before the ban, they throw in another platform. Twitch is also banned.

McIntosh

Yeah, it's drip feeding. It's - and again, I've been going on about this for weeks now. The fact that people just don't even know which platforms are in or out and then if a platform's in, how are they going to verify people's age? And, you know, a lot of kids are pretty attached to some of these platforms and they use it for games or their friends or whatever they do and it's just making it confusing. And I've been warning for a long time now, despite the great intention of protecting kids, it's a high risk of failing. And then if that fails, what are we left with? What are we left with? What happens next after this? So, we'll keep prosecuting the case. But it it's a mess, it's just shambles, and we are in the countdown days to go.

Smith

You know, I had a conversation about this with some high level Opposition executives last night at a function I went to and they said to me, and this is interesting, the kids will be ingenious enough to go around the rules to use all sorts of different technology to access not only what they were accessing before, Melissa, but probably accessing dark web stuff they couldn't get access to before.

McIntosh

Yeah, and that's absolutely right. There's that component of it, that's the fact that even on YouTube where there were protections in place for young people, if you had an account now, they can just freely roam around YouTube as well.

Smith

Yep.

McIntosh

And I think there's a bigger story in this. It's - we've already moved, I think beyond social media, to what's coming next in AI and some really, as you said, really dark things happening there. So just thinking that a ban on social media is going to solve the problems of the world online is really, you know, sticking ahead in the sand. We need to be dealing with some of these really serious, as you said, dark web and other technologies that are coming on.

Smith

And the same thing applies for the mental health of people. This is supposed to protect the mental health of young people. But what about someone who doesn't have too many friends, just gets to school, gets home again, doesn't do too much sport, relies on being online to talk to friends. All of a sudden, the teddy bear has been taken away from them, and they are stranded with no connection except at school to people who are part of their lives.

McIntosh

Yeah, and there were - when this was coming on a lot of those youth mental health organisations, and I was a shadow minister for mental health at one point in time last term, and they were concern the mental health of young people, particularly those that are very attached and almost, you know, that's their social life online.

So, we've got to be very aware of that. And just thinking it's coming into school holidays, just thinking that parents, you know, across the country are going to be able to automatically deal with this when they don't even really know it's coming. Fair enough. Because we're getting drip fed these new platforms, you know, it seems like every other day. So that, that is a concern, and I don't actually - I know for sure the government has not done enough in that regard. I think there's one measly little ad campaign out right now and that's about it to alert kids, parents and schools that it's coming.

Smith

They've gone off half cock.

McIntosh

Yep.

Smith

One last one before we let you go. We've also been covering this bomb website redevelopment which has blown out from, well, we were told $4 million now, $96 million. And according to the ABC this morning, this was signed off on by Malcolm Turnbull.

McIntosh

Yeah. What a - I don't want to use the pun, but what a disaster, really. And it's meant to protect people. I - it was - I read today, I wasn't aware that was before my time, that was signed off. It seems like a huge amount of money, even, you know, for that time, and - but you've got to think, what's this? Ten years or so? Nearly eight years in the making.

Smith

Yeah.

McIntosh

That's a long time to develop a website. No wonder it cost a bomb.

Smith

Yes.

McIntosh

It’s - people rely on this, though, and I know that because we've been through disasters and bushfires and floods and that's where you turn to. So, once again, there's an essential service that Australians are losing trust and confidence in. And the fact that it costs so much money, that's just not on. So, I think some quick work needs to be done on that. But Australians have a right to question why a website would cost that much.

Smith

I got so many calls on this on the open line yesterday, people are disgusted. I'll let you go. Busy day ahead. Melissa McIntosh, thank you very much for your time.

McIntosh

Thank you.