Victoria to introduce new AI, social media laws
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Victoria will introduce new laws to crackdown on social media and AI platforms in a bid to make it easier to reveal anonymous users online and to lower the barriers to take legal action against big tech.
The context: The current threshold for someone to sue an AI or social media company for negligence that causes psychiatric harm is for a medically proven permanent impairment of 10% or more.
This threshold will be removed for claims brought on behalf of minors and will be considered for adults during the drafting of the new law.
The state government is also planning to give the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal powers, known as “demasking orders”, to force tech companies to reveal who is behind anonymous accounts when they are accused of online vilification.
There will be consultation with stakeholders, the courts and VCAT over all the proposed changes.
What they said: “Social media and AI companies design their platforms to be addictive, and our kids are paying the price,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement.
“If a platform hurts a child, families should be able to take that company to court,” she said.
“Hiding behind an anonymous account online should never mean you can vilify someone and get away with it.”
The source: Victorian premier media release
