‘All guns blazing’: How 36 Months won the Canberra war
Simone Gupta, campaign strategist with 36 Months, has revealed that she and her team’s Canberra inexperience helped get the under-16 social media ban across the line.
Gupta — who’s also the co-founder of independent agency Supermassive — acknowledged the fact during Mumbrella’s communications and PR conference, Commscon, last Thursday.
Speaking to the room and session moderator, Unmade’s Cat McGinn, via Zoom, Gupta explained that her background in brand communications and lack of experience in public affairs informed the 36 Months’ campaign strategy. It allowed the movement — which campaigned for the age in which Australian children are allowed to use social media be increased to 16 — “to really put the pressure on”.
“You know, I’m a brand comms gal, right? That is my bag,” Gupta said. “I’ve worked in brand, brand strategy, brand PR, comms, my whole life. I’m not [a] lobbyist. I’ve never really worked in public affairs.”
(L-R): Cat McGinn, Simone Gupta
“I took with it sort of my brand comm skills into how we planned out this campaign. I think it actually helped us that we didn’t know how to navigate Canberra, because I think we just went in sort of all guns blazing really, in a way that maybe if I had a background in public affairs, it wouldn’t, I would’ve done it a bit more lightly and a bit slower as well.
“I think we sort of started to really put the pressure on … but once we have that, we really thought, ‘let’s go to Canberra’ and… push the agenda there before parliament finishes in November.”
According to Gupta, the movement’s foray into Canberra came during “quite a long campaign from May to November” that saw it gain a bipartisan vote within the New South Wales parliament to increase the age from 13 to 16, despite earlier plans to limit it to only 14.
“They actually shifted … their viewpoint on [the age limit] … and that they would raise it to 16 pending a decision from the federal government,” Gupta said.
“That gave us, like another push to actually take it to the federal government.”
Simone Gupta speaking at CommsCon 2025
The campaign’s work paid off. At the end of November 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese formally announced a bill that would introduce legislation banning people under the age of 16 from using social media platforms. The law mandates that platforms take responsibility for preventing underage users from accessing their services.
“Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them. We’re making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days,” Albanese said.
“We’ve got your back, is our message to Australian parents.”
They’re words that are sure to have resonated with Gupta, who also had a personal investment in the 36 Months campaign.
When asked about keeping motivated and passionate about a movement while “starting from a strong belief that what you’re doing won’t work or won’t happen”, Gupta kept her response simple.
“I’ve got 10-year-olds believe. I’ve got a daughter who wants a TikTok account and do ‘get ready with me’, and she’s 10. I’ve got a son. Who is a little boy and he’s vulnerable to outside influences cause he’s 10 — and that’s what motivated me.”
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Matthew is the editorial assistant at Mumbrella. He joined the company at the end of September 2023.
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