iStock: Credit Drazen Zigic
Edith Cowan University (ECU) will host a major conference exploring the rights of children and young people in an era of increasing social media regulation.
The Digital and Sexual Citizenship in an Age of Social Media Bans: Interrogating the Rights of Children and Young People conference will take place from 6 to 8 July at the ECU City Campus and Oaks Hotel in Perth.
The conference brings together leading researchers, educators, policymakers, practitioners and young people to explore how emerging laws, policies and public debates are shaping the digital rights, participation and lived experiences of children and young people.
Keynote speakers address critical issues
The conference features keynote presentations from Katrina Marson, Professor Tama Leaver, Professor Alan McKee and Associate Professor Megan Lim, all recognised leaders in their respective fields.
Katrina Marson was a criminal lawyer specialising in sexual offences when she decided to investigate ways to prevent such crimes. In 2019, Katrina won a Churchill Fellowship to research the implementation of relationships and sexuality education in Europe and North America. Katrina will be talking about how children's and young people's access to age-appropriate sexuality education and other related information, out of school and online, is a human right.
Tama Leaver is Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University and a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. His paper on "All Stick, No Carrot? Deploying Australia's Social Media Ban for under-16's" examines the opportunities missed to make social media a better experience for teens.
The Australian newspaper names Professor Alan McKee, Sydney University, as the nation's foremost sex and sexuality researcher for 2026. He will be talking on "Sexual Shame and Healthy Sexual Development", arguing that teenagers, and society, still feel shame about aspects of healthy sexual development. Professor McKee argues that social media bans are moving in the wrong direction by making it more difficult for adolescents to talk about sexuality with their parents.
Associate Professor Megan Lim heads up the Young People's Health research group at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne. A public health researcher, Associate Professor Lim and her team have extensive experience in researching youth sexuality and digital media. She will be talking on "Young people's perspectives on age verification for online pornography".
Other topics to be explored include digital citizenship in the Asia-Pacific; whether digital restrictions disproportionately harm disabled, queer and regional youth; and sex and relationships education in faith-based schools.
The conference will close with a round table discussion featuring the keynote speakers and Commissioner for Children and Young People WA Jacqueline McGowan-Jones exploring whether the Australian social media ban infringes children's and young people's digital and sexual rights.
Driving evidence-based conversations
Conference organiser, ECU Professor of Communications Lelia Green, said the conference aims to support evidence-based policymaking and amplify young people's voices at a time when governments worldwide are considering new restrictions on digital access.
"As governments, regulators and institutions increasingly seek to address concerns about online safety through restrictions on access to digital technologies and platforms, important questions arise about children's rights, agency, participation and citizenship.
"By bringing together a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise, we hope to foster collaborative approaches that balance safety, wellbeing and rights in the digital age," Professor Green said.
The Conference is supported by ECU, ECU's Ethical Digital Futures research group in the School of Arts and Humanities, and by Curtin University.
To register for the Digital and Sexual Citizenship in an Age of Social Media Bans: Interrogating the Rights of Children and Young People conference visit the trybooking webpage.
