Expert committee to study the negative effects of social media

A committee of experts has been set up to study how social media can be regulated to protect vulnerable people from its negative impacts.

Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg announced the news during a conference organised by the Times of Malta in collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariat.

The committee will be chaired by Buttigieg, its members including Prof. Matthew Montebello, Rev. Dr Jean Govè, Dr Josianne Cutajar, Martina Mallia and Glen Sultana.

“This initiative is a result of the national family plan which provides for discussions to begin on the enforcement of age restrictions for the use of social media, so that children are protected from harmful content” she said.

Countries such as Australia, England and Germany have already implemented these measures, and Buttigieg said that Malta must follow.

Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said that while the government has already implemented a criminal code for cyberbullying and stalking, “there is other content on social platforms that is very harmful that we need to combat, which cannot in any way be considered censorship”.

He said this will not be easy because it requires cooperation among the large international companies running these social platforms.

Present at the conference, European Commissioner Glen Micallef said: “The solution must be a holistic one, where regulations, education, and direct youth participation is included. That is why discussions like these are essential for informing and guiding our politics.”

In parallel to the conference, a public opinion poll conducted by Times of Malta also showed that more than 80% of respondents are in favour of social media platforms being regulated.