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Australia has said it will fine online publishers up to 5% of their global revenue if steps are not taken to prevent the spread of disinformation.
The move from the government follows a trend from many ruling administrations around the world to put pressure on internet platforms, but opposition voices have expressed concern about the impact on free speech and dissent.
Australia is primed to introduce legislation in parliament on Thursday, to target information that specifically damages the integrity of elections or public health, calls for denigrating a group or injury to a person, or risks disruption to important infrastructure or emergency services.
The country also recently introduced ‘guardrails’ for regulating AI.
The proposed bill is part of a wider attempt by lawmakers in Australia, to reign in overseas-based tech platforms which it feels have circumvented national sovereignty with rising influence. The action comes ahead of the build-up to the federal election due within a year.
Politicians want the online platforms to be more accountable, to set conduct guidelines that must be adhered to, and enforced. The framework would be overseen by a regulator, who would impose its own sanctions if the agreed guidelines were not met.
Australia is cracking down on misinformation by introducing new legislation that could slap social media giants with fines of up to 5% of their global revenue for failing to curb harmful falsehoods. Here are the details #Australia #Misinformation #Internet #cnbctv18digital pic.twitter.com/0vl1cWqCez
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 12, 2024
Doing Nothing Is Not an Option: Minister
Commenting on the legislation, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland warned of the threats to democracy as well as safety and wellbeing posed by misinformation and disinformation.
“Doing nothing and allowing this problem to fester is not an option,” she added.
A previous attempt to give more powers to the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2023 was criticized for giving too much autonomy to the body to determine what constituted misinformation and disinformation – the terms for pushing false information.
In response, opposition Home Affairs Minister James Patterson told Sky News, “Australians legitimately held political beliefs should not be censored by governments or by foreign social media platforms.”
He stressed citizens have a right to hear competing arguments and to make up their own minds.
