After the Australian government unveiled new rules aimed at combating “misinformation and disinformation,” Elon Musk’s Twitter and other social media behemoths might be subject to billion-dollar fines.
The draught law that will give the nation’s media regulatory body, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), more authority to stifle damaging content online was revealed by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland after a lengthy process that lasted months.
The Labour Party’s minister of communications stated in a statement on June 26 that “misinformation and disinformation sows division within the community, erodes trust, and can threaten public health and safety.”
After the Australian government unveiled new rules aimed at combating “misinformation and disinformation,” Elon Musk’s Twitter and other social media behemoths might be subject to billion-dollar fines.
The draught law that will give the nation’s media regulatory body, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), more authority to stifle damaging content online was revealed by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland after a lengthy process that lasted months.
The Labour Party’s minister of communications stated in a statement on June 26 that “misinformation and disinformation sows division within the community, erodes trust, and can threaten public health and safety.”
“This consultation process offers industry and the general public the chance to voice their opinions on the proposed framework, which strives to strike the correct balance between freedom of speech and protection from harmful misinformation and disinformation online.
The government has vowed that ACMA will not have the authority to judge whether a particular post is “true” or “false” and will have no bearing on “professional news content or authorised electoral content.”
New Requirements and Penalties
A two-tiered system for controlling misinformation or disinformation online is introduced by the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023.
In the first tier, ACMA will ask social media businesses to create a code of conduct (industry codes), which will be registered and enforced by ACMA—much like the telecommunications sector.
A violation of this rule will result in harsh consequences, including a $2.75 million fine or two percent of global sales, whichever is higher.
If the code is violated, the second level of regulation will see the ACMA establish and enforce an industry standard (a more stringent form of regulation), which carries even higher penalties of $6.8 million or 5% of global turnover—millions for Twitter and billions for businesses like Meta (Facebook).
These laws are intended to reinforce current voluntary codes created by the Digital Industry Group.
Concerns raised by the federal opposition centre on how ACMA will define “misinformation” or “disinformation.”
A tricky area of policy, government overreach must be avoided, according to opposition communications minister David Coleman.
The general public will be curious to learn precisely who decides whether a particular piece of content is “misinformation” or “disinformation.
In a statement posted online, he claimed that “the severe penalties associated with this legislation potentially places substantial power in the hands of government officials.”
Dr. Nick Coatsworth, a former deputy chief medical officer who has publicly argued with other physicians about lockdown procedures and vaccinations, was also wary of the laws.
“Misinformation is an accusation thrown so readily that such legislation would be impossible to implement; and if it were implemented, it would inevitably lead to fines being levied for things that aren’t, or turn out to be not,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The general public will want to know specifically who decides whether a specific piece of content is “misinformation” or “disinformation.
In a statement posted online, he claimed that “the severe penalties associated with this legislation potentially places substantial power in the hands of government officials.”
Dr. Nick Coatsworth, a former deputy chief medical officer who has publicly argued with other physicians about lockdown procedures and vaccinations, was also wary of the laws.
“Misinformation is an accusation thrown so readily that such legislation would be impossible to implement; and if it were implemented, it would inevitably lead to fines being levied for things that are not, or turn out to be not,” he wrote on Twitter.
Musk’s Ongoing Conflict with Australian Authorities
The eSafety commissioner, who only focuses on online content, has a narrower scope than Australia’s broadcast regulator, the ACMA.
Just a few days prior, the commissioner warned Twitter with sanctions up to $700,000 (US$476,000) per day unless it clarified what steps it was doing to halt “hate speech” on its site.
