The federal government will look to create laws for preventing online misinformation and add more scrutiny towards the voluntary disinformation code followed by large digital platforms.
The Australian federal government has pledged new laws for cracking down against the spread of harmful disinformation and misinformation on social media. Under the proposed laws, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) would gain an expanded set of powers for enforcing voluntary industry codes of practice should platforms‘ actions prove inadequate. „This will encourage platforms to be ambitious in addressing the harms of disinformation and misinformation, while providing ACMA with the ability to hold platforms to account should their voluntary efforts prove inadequate or untimely,“ Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said. The announcement of these laws come a year after large digital platforms, including Facebook, Google, TikTok, and Twitter, among others launched a voluntary code of practice for addressing misinformation online.
