Meghan says she was 'most trolled person' as she and Harry back Australia’s under-16 social media ban
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, told students in Melbourne that she had been the "most trolled person in the entire world" online for 10 years, as she and Prince Harry urged tougher accountability for technology platforms and backed Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s.
Speaking alongside the Duke of Sussex at Swinburne University of Technology during a discussion about the harms of social media, Meghan said she was "bullied" every day for a decade and argued that tech firms were "not incentivised to stop" misuse of their platforms.
"That industry, that billion-dollar industry, is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks—that's not going to change," she told the group. Her husband called Australia’s under-16 restriction "epic" from a "responsibility and leadership standpoint", noting that "so many countries have now followed suit".
He added that "it should have never, ever got to a ban", saying companies "have to be accountable" and that "there's no way that young people should be punished by being banned from something that should be safe to use, no matter what". Later in the day, Prince Harry delivered a keynote at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne, a workplace culture event with tickets priced up to A$2,400 (£1,260).
He reflected on the death of his mother, Princess Diana, saying, "In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age. Grief does not disappear because we ignore it. Experiencing that as a kid while in a goldfish bowl under constant surveillance, yes, that will have its challenges.
And without purpose, it can break you." He said he had felt "lost, betrayed, or completely powerless" at different points in his life. He was not paid a fee for the speech, according to a news agency report. On the third day of their four-day tour as non-working royals, the couple also joined an Aboriginal cultural experience, the Scar Tree Walk, along the Birrarung, the traditional name for Melbourne’s Yarra River.
Guided by Indigenous leaders, they viewed an art installation and learned how the river and surrounding lands were used for fishing and hunting by traditional owners. Tom Mosby, CEO of the Koorie Heritage Trust, said the visit aimed to show the couple what lies beneath the modern city.
The Melbourne stop combined the couple’s advocacy on online safety and mental health with cultural engagement, as they continue their visit to Australia.