G’day John,
There’s been a lot of chatter recently about the Government’s Misinformation and Disinformation Bill, so in case you are out of the loop, I wanted to let you know where I stand.
The Government says this Bill will deal with the harm caused by lies spread on social media. It’s true that the spread of lies is bad for our democracy, but this Bill, in its current form, just isn’t the answer.
The Bill is more than 70 pages long, and my staff and I have been going through it with a fine-tooth comb. It’s a case of the devil being in the details. I’ve met with organisations and people from both sides of the fence — for and against. The office phone has rung off the hook, mainly with JLN supporters saying they don’t like the Bill. The feedback has been clear: people do not like this Bill.
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This Bill expects social media companies to regulate misinformation and hate speech on their platforms — effectively making them the judge and the jury all in one. Trusting X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to regulate what’s the ‘truth’ is a dangerous path to go down.
Social media needs to be brought into line, but we need to do it in a way that doesn’t have other negative consequences.
