Sydney (Australia), Sep 12 (EFE).- Australia is seeking to fine social media and digital platforms 5% of their global revenue for spreading misleading or false news that causes serious harm, according to a bill presented Thursday to Parliament in Canberra.
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Tackling Disinformation) Bill 2024 “has a particular focus on tackling the most seriously harmful content on digital platforms, and contains enhanced protections for freedom of expression,” according to a government statement.
“Misinformation and disinformation pose a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy,” Labor Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said in the statement.
“Doing nothing and allowing this problem to worsen is not an option,” the minister added, justifying this measure, which would consider electoral interference or the dissemination of false information that puts security, well-being or health at risk as serious damage.
To combat disinformation and misinformation that poses serious risks, the proposal would provide the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with more powers to oversee and regulate, the government said in a statement.
The ACMA will thus be able to approve a mandatory sectoral code or draw up rules if the measures adopted by the platforms to regulate themselves do not advance the fight against disinformation, the text adds.
These measures, which complement the voluntary codes that digital platforms and social networks have imposed on themselves, will also force digital platforms to increase their transparency regarding their efforts to combat disinformation on their services.
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But violating the rules carries fines, including 5% of the global revenue of digital platforms such as Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), which this year refused to continue honouring a 2021 agreement to pay for journalistic content published on its platforms by the country’s media outlets.
The Act will not give ACMA the power to remove individual content or user accounts, as platforms are and will remain responsible for managing content on their services in accordance with their own terms of service, the statement added.
The proposal comes as part of a series of initiatives that have been announced or tabled in Parliament against doxing (revealing a person’s information online without their consent) and the imposition of age limits on access to social media.
Disinformation on social media has been tackled by the European Union, which implemented the Digital Services Act in 2022, which obliges platforms to remove illegal, harmful or false content, as well as in France, Germany and Brazil.
(c) EFE Agency
