Social media giants could face duty of care laws
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The news: Social media giants will face a legal duty of care to prevent harm on their platforms, in the Albanese government’s latest attempt to regulate the online world.
The context: Communications Minister Michelle Rowland on Wednesday announced the government will develop and legislate rules placing an onus on platforms – like X and Facebook – to prevent online harm.
Rowland said the rules would place ‘proactive obligations’ on social media giants, and they would be required to continually identify risks as technology develops.
Similar rules are already in place in the UK and European Union, and require platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harms.
The measure was recommended by a review into the Online Safety Act, which was handed to the government last month.
Rowland’s announcement comes with Labor also set to pass a ban on children under 16 using social media, a plan also supported by the Coalition.
It is also struggling to pass its misinformation bill, which would give the Australian Communications and Media Authority enhanced powers to punish social media platforms for allowing misinformation to spread.
Its attempts to curb big tech has hit difficulties, with X launching a successful legal challenge against the eSafety commissioner, who demanded it take down footage of a terror attack in Sydney.
X owner Elon Musk has labelled the Albanese government "fascist", and was handed a role in the Trump administration on Wednesday.
What they said: “This, as part of a growing global effort, will deliver a more systemic and preventative approach to making online services safer and healthier,” Rowland told the Sydney Institute on Wednesday.
“Where platforms seriously and systemically breach their duty of care we will ensure the regulator can draw on strong penalty arrangements.”
The source: Michelle Rowland speech
