Despite widespread opposition from the Australian public, Labor’s ‘Misinformation Disinformation’ Bill has passed the House of Representatives by 78 votes to 57. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), which has voiced strong opposition to both this Bill and a previous Exposure Draft, has called the Bill “Orwellian” and “an unmatched threat to freedom of speech in Australia” Similar to the former Draft Exposure Bill, which received over 23,000 responses from the Australian public during the consultation process, this Bill seeks to endow The Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ‘ACMA’, with broad new powers to censor online content. Michelle Pearse, CEO of the ACL, said “The proposed legislation would allow the Government of the day to impose their subjective view of “truth” onto public discourse and effectively silence dissenting voices” If passed through the Senate, digital platforms could be threatened with enormous fines should they fail to remove “misinformation”.
“By granting ACMA the ability to arbitrarily determine what is “false, misleading, or deceptive” and what is “reasonably likely to cause or contribute to” harm,” this Bill gives the Government unprecedented control over the media narrative on contentious and disputed topics”. “This is especially concerning for Christians and Australians who disagree with radical ideologies being pushed by influential fringe groups,” Pearse continued. “We have already seen the E-Commissioner forcibly remove posts on X which criticise radical gender ideology”. “Many Members opposing this legislation expressed such concerns today, but unfortunately, the Government is pushing this through” Pearse warned, “The Department’s own Impact Analysis states the Bill would stop the spread of information that might reverse “the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people” suggesting it may well silence pro-life views and views that oppose trans ideology”. “Limiting freedom of speech in this way threatens democracy itself” Pearse said.
“The ACL is disappointed to see the Australian Government rush these reforms through the House of Representatives after giving Australians only 11 days to formally respond to the Bill.” The ACL calls on the Government to abandon its Misinformation Disinformation Bill and commit to protecting democratic freedom of speech.
Source: Australian Christian Lobby
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