Political and govt ads not exempt from misinformation bill
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The news: Political attack advertisements could fall foul of new misinformation and disinformation laws after the Albanese government removed exemptions for content from government and political parties in the bill.
The context: Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has been re-working the misinformation and disinformation bill for more than a year after it was roundly criticised by legal and human rights experts for giving the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) too much power to regulate speech on the internet.
The bill was introduced to parliament on Thursday morning with a number of changes to the exposure draft released last year.
Key concessions include removing the exemption for content from government and political parties, while adding an exemption for religious expression. News media, academia, art, parody and satire are also exempted.
The proposed laws would give ACMA new powers to set an enforceable industry code or make broad standards should companies fail to self-regulate under voluntary codes.
If ACMA finds a social media company isn't complying with the code, it could impose fines of up to 5% of global turnover.
Labor will need the support of either the Coalition, or the Greens and a number of other cross benchers, to pass the laws.
It follows a number of other proposed laws to clamp down on big tech including a ban on children using social media, a new criminal offence for doxxing and a potential new levy or tax on social media giants to pay for Australian news.
What they said: “Trump’s America has supercharged the serious dangers of mis- and disinformation to democracy and public discourse, health and safety. It’s clear that the global tech giants are unwilling to act in the public interest without strong regulation and enforcement,” Greens’ communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The Greens will look at the Government's bill and we will make sure they've got it right this time. With both the US election and the looming federal election here in Australia, we must ensure that the community is protected from the vicious and deliberate spread of information designed to trick, manipulate and harm the community.
“We want to see the tech giants regulated properly with the onus on them to make their platforms safe. Australia is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to holding the big social media companies to account for protecting users from harm.”
The sources: Australian Parliament, The Greens
