New Rules to Combat Fake News in Australia
Australia is looking to follow Europe's lead by introducing new fines for social media platforms that allow the spread of misinformation.
A new bill presented to the Australian Parliament suggests that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) could gain additional powers to investigate and prosecute social platforms for both misinformation and disinformation shared by users.
The proposed laws would require social media companies to have more transparent reporting practices and set guidelines for removing detected misinformation within their apps. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 5% of their global revenue.
These proposals mirror the rules in place in Europe under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA aims to protect against "illegal and harmful activities online," including the spread of disinformation related to illegal content.
However, the challenge lies in defining misinformation and disinformation. This lack of a universal definition could potentially give local regulators and governments more power to silence dissenting opinions, depending on their interpretation of the law.
Enforcement of such regulations would be complex and is likely to face strong opposition from the social media platforms themselves. Elon Musk, the owner of X, has already criticized the proposal, suggesting it could impact free speech.
Australian Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland has emphasized the serious threat that misinformation and disinformation pose to the safety, wellbeing, and democracy of Australians. The Australian Media Literacy Alliance reports that 80% of Australians believe the spread of misinformation on social media needs to be addressed.
While the broader push for regulation is likely motivated by concerns about misinformation, the specific targeting of X and Musk has been exacerbated by their recent clashes with the Australian Government.
Following the stabbing of a church leader in Sydney, Australian officials requested that social media platforms remove a video of the incident due to concerns about its potential to fuel racist violence. X refused, stating that Australian officials had no right to request a blanket removal of the content. This led to a public dispute between Musk and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The incident sparked a review of existing laws and processes, ultimately leading to the new proposal for more definitive regulation of social media platforms.
X, specifically, seems to be the target of these regulations, and Musk is likely to continue defying Australian orders, despite complying with similar takedown requests in other countries.
Musk's grandstanding on "free speech" concerns is now prompting further regulations to reign him in while also bringing other social media apps under the same umbrella.
This is likely to lead to future conflicts over Australian removal requests and potentially significant fines for X. If Musk refuses to comply, Australia could take a more drastic approach, such as cutting off the app entirely within the region.
