Australia announced it will fine internet platforms up to 5% of their global revenue for failing to prevent the spread of disinformation online, joining global pressure to rein in borderless tech giants, but angering free speech advocates.
The Government announced that it will force technology platforms to establish codes of conduct to prevent the spread of dangerous falsehoods, which must be approved by a regulatory body. If a platform failed to do so, the regulator would set its own rules and fine companies that failed to comply.
The legislation, which will be introduced in Parliament on Thursday, focuses on false content that threatens the integrity of elections or public health, incite denunciation of a group or harm to a person or risk disrupting key infrastructure or emergency services.
The bill is part of a broader regulatory offensive by Australia, where leaders have complained that technology platforms based abroad are nullifying the country’s sovereignty and it comes ahead of federal elections scheduled for within a year.
Facebook owner Meta has already said it could block professional news content if it is forced to pay royalties, while social network X, formerly known as Twitter, has eliminated most content moderation since it was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk in 2022.
““Disinformation and hoaxes pose a serious threat to the safety and well-being of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said in a statement.
“Doing nothing and allowing this problem to spread is not an option.”
An initial version of the bill was criticised in 2023 for giving the Australian Communications and Media Authority too much power to determine what constituted disinformation and hoaxes, term used to describe the intentional dissemination of lies.
Rowland explained that the new bill specified that the media regulator would not have the power to force the removal of individual content or user accounts. The new version of the bill protects professional news and artistic and religious content, while it does not protect content authorized by the State.
Around 80% of Australians wanted the spread of misinformation to be tackledthe minister said, citing the Australian Literary Media Alliance.
Meta, which counts nearly nine in ten Australians as Facebook users, declined to comment. Industry body Digi, of which Meta is a member, He said the new regime reinforced an anti-disinformation code that was last updated in 2022, but that many questions remained.
X was not available for comment.
Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson said that while he had not yet examined the revised bill, “Australians’ legitimate political beliefs should not be censored by the government or by foreign social media platforms.”
For its part, the Australian Communications and Media Authority welcomed “legislation that gives it a formal regulatory role to combat disinformation and hoaxes on digital platforms.”
