Malta Forms Expert Committee to Tackle Social Media’s Harmful Impact on Society

Rebecca Buttigieg, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms, has announced the formation of an expert committee tasked with studying and recommending ways for Malta to protect society, particularly its most vulnerable members, from the negative effects of social media.

The announcement was made during a Times of Malta conference held in collaboration with the Secretariat, which explored the impact of social media, especially on children and adolescents.Buttigieg explained that the initiative stems from the National Family Plan, which calls for discussions on introducing age restrictions to better shield young people from harmful online content. She emphasised Malta’s intention to follow in the footsteps of countries such as Australia, the UK, and Germany.

Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights Michael Falzon noted that while Malta has already criminalized cyberbullying and cyberstalking, more needs to be done to curb damaging content without resorting to censorship.

He warned that the risks will grow with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technologies.

The new committee, chaired by Buttigieg, includes Prof. Matthew Montebello, Rev. Dr Jean Govè, Dr Josianne Cutajar, Martina Mallia, and Glen Sultana.

A public poll by Times of Malta found that over 80% of more than 2,000 respondents support greater regulation of social media platforms.

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