Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced new legislation to combat online misinformation on Sunday that would empower the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to prevent and address the spread of misinformation on digital platforms.

The regulatory body in Australia would be given the authority to mandate tech giants and their digital platforms to take measures to curb the dissemination of user-generated misinformation. The minister asserted that it would strike a delicate balance between “strike the right balance between protection from harmful mis and disinformation online and freedom of speech.”

Advocates also say the laws would safeguard Australian users from the adverse consequences arising from the proliferation of hate speech, anti-scientific rhetoric, and propaganda. However, critics argue that the bill would undermine free speech by allowing the government to decide what is true or not.  

The scope of ACMA’s expanded jurisdiction would encompass a range of functions, such as information gathering pertaining to digital platforms

While ACMA itself lacks direct punitive powers, it maintains the ability to seek recourse through the judicial system in cases of recurrent violations of regulations by companies. If companies ignore ACMA directions to address misinformation they can be subject to fines of $6.8 million or 5 percent of their annual turnover. However, the Minister for Communications said ACMA would lack the power to mandate the removal of individual posts from digital platforms.

The body would direct its attention toward addressing the escalating prevalence of systemic issues that have emerged in recent times, including the observed surge in misinformation and hate speech on platforms such as Twitter, which has persisted despite the Australian government’s ongoing efforts to counteract these challenges. 

The jurisdiction of ACMA would not encompass professional news content. This deliberate exclusion is designed to uphold the principles of impartiality and the promotion of diverse perspectives within the realm of professional journalism. The primary focus of ACMA’s regulatory purview is specifically directed toward digital platforms, where user-generated content predominantly originates.