Today, the government’s so-called Digital Duty of Care bill passed the House of Representatives.
This is the latest attempt by Labor to control what Australians see and hear online.
This censorship law:
• incentivises the removal of lawful speech
• grants vague and sweeping powers to the minister and eSafety Commissioner
• introduces new regulatory burdens on small business
• includes covert surveillance powers by allowing fake ‘sock puppet’ accounts to track users online
• puts Australians’ online safety at risk by abolishing the mandatory codes and standards which proactively regulate unlawful and age-restricted material
The government’s eleventh hour amendments to its own bill shows what a dog’s breakfast this is.
We expect other serious defects with the bill will emerge in the upcoming Senate inquiry.
It’s part of a pattern of failure in this portfolio.
Labor had to bring in a bill to fix its under 16s social media ban just six months after the law took effect, and it has botched the rollout of the ban with 70 per cent of kids still on social media platforms, according to eSafety’s own research.
Labor can’t get online safety right. Australian families deserve better than policy made on the run.