Australian Government's Attempt to Revive Misinformation Bill

Overview

The Australian government is looking to capitalize on recent knife attacks to reintroduce its misinformation bill, which was previously shelved due to concerns over freedom of speech. The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023, in conjunction with existing eSafety legislation, could significantly increase the government's control over online speech. This is part of a larger global effort to reshape the online landscape.

The Bill's Provisions

The proposed legislation would expand the voluntary "disinformation code" launched in 2021, partly developed by US/UK NGO First Draft, now known as the Information Futures Lab. The bill would allow the Australian Media and Communications Alliance (ACMA) to impose fines of up to $6.8 million or five percent of a company's global turnover if they believe a platform has not taken enough action to remove "disinformation." This could lead platforms to become more cautious and remove legitimate content to avoid potential fines.

Exemptions and Potential Harm

The government, academia, and mainstream media are exempt from the bill, which some see as ironic given that these groups have often been sources of misinformation. The bill also lowers the threshold for what can be considered harmful content online, potentially stifling legitimate protest and dissent. Furthermore, the bill allows the Minister of Communications to initiate and direct "disinformation" investigations at will.

Origins and Criticisms

The misinformation bill extends the voluntary disinformation code developed by the Digital Industry Group Inc. (DIGI), in partnership with First Draft. However, First Draft has been involved in information suppression operations, raising concerns about its involvement in the bill. The Australian Twitter Files revealed that the Department of Home Affairs requested Twitter remove 222 pandemic-related tweets, often jokes, commentary, scientific debate, and information that turned out to be true.

Opposition to the Bill

Despite assurances to the contrary, the misinformation bill violates Australia’s commitment to freedom of opinion and expression, as laid out in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Australia is a signatory. The bill’s imprecise language leaves it open to abuse by the government of the day and unelected bureaucrats. Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay has noted that measures taken to combat misinformation and disinformation could themselves risk undermining Australia’s democracy and freedoms.

Conclusion

Open discourse is the central pillar of a free society and is essential for holding governments accountable. Free speech fundamentally protects and empowers vulnerable groups. Individual speech and expression protections are not just for views we agree with but also for views we strongly oppose. The war in Gaza has woken up some on the Left to the risks of empowering the government and platforms to decide what is true and false, and last year's popular pushback frustrated the Australian Government’s attempt to pass the misinformation bill. However, a new attempt is underway to chill free speech in Australia, and panic is the Government’s best weapon to reach this end. Ultimately, our best weapon against misinformation and disinformation is free speech. What is truly needed is legislation that better protects that right.

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