In scanning the headlines for the week I was amazed just how much seemed to be going on in the legislative space on Social Media that is totally unlikely to be passed unless the Morrison / Joyce Government is re-elected in a month or so.
After 9 years in office we suddenly have things like this.
New laws to fight misinformation online
Miranda Ward Media writer
Mar 20, 2022 – 10.30pm
The Morrison government will legislate to combat misinformation published online after a report found four of five Australian adults had seen incorrect information about COVID-19.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher will announce plans on Monday to provide the industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, with new powers to hold tech companies to account for harmful content on their platforms.
He will also release a report by the ACMA on the adequacy of the digital platforms’ disinformation and news quality measures one year after the launch of a voluntary code of practice designed to reduce the risk of online misinformation and disinformation.
“ACMA’s report highlights that disinformation and misinformation are significant and ongoing issues,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Digital platforms must take responsibility for what is on their sites and take action when harmful or misleading content appears. This is our government’s clear expectation, and just as we have backed that expectation with action in recently passing the new Online Safety Act, we are taking action when it comes to disinformation and misinformation.”
More here:
and this:
Government opens new AFP-led centre to tackle online crime
The Federal Government has opened a new centre to combat online crime, to be led by the Australian Federal Police, alongside a national plan to combat online crimes.
The plan was agreed to by ministers in the states and territories last week.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in a statement on Monday that the centre and the plan meant bringing together the experience, powers, capabilities and intelligence needed for a strong response to online crime.
“During the pandemic, cyber crime became one of the fastest growing and most prolific forms of crime committed against Australians," Andrews claimed.
"The tools and the techniques used to rob or extort Australians became more effective and more freely available than ever before.
More here:
Also we have advice like this:
ACMA to government: digital platforms code needs to be stronger
By Richard Chirgwin on Mar 22, 2022 11:36AM
Government releases report it sat on since June.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority could have its powers to try and regulate online misinformation expanded, communications minister Paul Fletcher has announced.
The ACMA received its regulatory powers in February 2021, following the government’s 2019 Digital Platforms report.
In a report dated June 2021 but released yesterday, the ACMA now says the code of conduct it oversees, developed by industry association DIGI, defines ‘misinformation’ so narrowly that platforms like Facebook and Twitter rarely have to take content down under the code.
“In our view, the scope of the code is limited by its definitions. In particular, a threshold of both ‘serious’ and 'imminent’ harm must be reached before action is required under the code”, ACMA said in the report.
Its recommendations are that the government encourage DIGI to review the code in light of the new report; that ACMA continue to administer the code and report to government by the end of 2022; that ACMA receive information-gathering powers (including imposing record keeping rules on platforms) so it can request Australia-specific data from the platforms; that ACMA receive “reserve powers” to register and enforce industry codes.
Lots more here:
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/acma-to-government-digital-platforms-code-needs-to-be-stronger-577665
and this:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/21/digital-code-of-conduct-fails-to-stop-all-harms-of-misinformation-acma-warns
Digital code of conduct fails to stop all harms of misinformation, Acma warns
Need for damage to be serious and imminent before Facebook and Google take action means ‘chronic’ problems build, watchdog says – citing mistrust of vaccines
Mon 21 Mar 2022 16.30 AEDTLast modified on Mon 21 Mar 2022 16.31 AEDT
The code of conduct adopted by digital platforms, including Facebook and Google, is “too narrow” to prevent all the harms of misinformation and disinformation, Australia’s media regulator has warned.
The requirement that harm from social media posts must be both “serious” and “imminent” before tech companies take action has allowed longer term “chronic harms” including vaccine misinformation and the erosion of democracy, according to the Australian Communication and Media Authority.
The Morrison government released Acma’s June 2021 report on the misinformation and disinformation code on Monday, promising to help boost the regulator’s power to demand information from digital platforms and give it reserve powers to create new rules for the industry.
Labor accused the government of promising the new powers in the “dying days of the 46th parliament”.
More here:
and we have the Opposition not supporting a recent and rushed effort in the space!
Labor opposes controversial 'anti-trolling' Bill as it may make online trolling worse
Labor Senator Kim Carr has blasted the federal government's proposed online defamation laws, saying the laws could do more harm than good.
Written by Campbell Kwan,
on March 24, 2022 | Topic: Government: AU
Australia's federal government has been pushing for new "anti-trolling legislation" that would see defamation liability shift from owners of social media pages onto social media platforms as it believes the legislative changes would go a long way towards reducing online harm, but the Labor party does not agree.
Labor Senator Kim Carr said his party would block the Bill as it does not actually address online trolling and may exacerbate its effects.
"Evidence from multiple witnesses appearing before this Committee, including the government department that drafted the bill, conclusively establishes that the bill is no such thing," Labor Senators Kim Carr wrote in a report [PDF] published by the Senate committee tasked with reviewing the laws.
"To the contrary, not only does this Bill fail to provide any practical means to combat the scrouge of online trolling, in providing blanket protection from liability to those hosting defamatory comments on the web pages they own and administer, as well as the extensive legal safe harbor it provides to social media companies hosting defamatory material, the bill is likely to make the problem of online trolling worse."
Lots more here:
What on earth is going on with this frenzy of what seems like pretty half backed activity – all seemingly in the last year of less.
If you want my take it is that as an election approaches the Government see a great big evil amorphous threat of a technical nature from overseas which they can frighten the public about and try to show they have is all in hand as they are such a good Government!
Sadly for them they are getting pushback from both the technical and policy communities and seem to be throwing out all sorts of material which seems half-baked and likely to be ineffective.
There is no doubt we need better and more effective regulation of social media but we also need to be alert to the risks of unintended consequences and move steadily and progressively to a state where the vulnerable are well protected but the adults in the room can face the minimum of impingements on the rights. Babies and bathwater come to mind with all this activtiy.
I get the distinct sense most of this activity is political rather than well thought out policy and that little will happen – despite the fact action is needed in some areas – until the election fever passes.
What do you think?
David.
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