Sky News has revealed the Albanese government will dump its misinformation and disinformation bill in response to overwhelming opposition in the Senate. Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell broke the news on Sunday Agenda after it had become clear the Coalition, Greens and crossbench all opposed the legislation. The proposed laws, which threatened online platforms with fines of up to 5 per cent of their annual revenue for failing to curb misinformation, had sparked fierce opposition. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland confirmed on Sunday there was “no pathway” to legislate the proposal. “The Government will not proceed with the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combating Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024,” she said. Following the bill’s failure, the government has signaled its intention to pursue alternative proposals for regulating online content. These include strengthening laws against non-consensual deep and sexually explicit fakes and introducing laws to enforce truth in political advertising.
The failed misinformation bill was a centrepiece of Labor’s policy agenda, with more than a year of development and consultations led by Ms Rowland. Trade Minister Don Farrell confirmed Labor had abandoned the legislation in an interview on Sunday Agenda. “The opposition in a former iteration said that they wanted that legislation. The Greens said that they wanted to support that legislation. They’ve joined forces now to stop the legislation,” he said. Unfortunately, that’s the end of it. There will be no legislation, the misinformation and disinformation bill, there will be no legislation.” The bill passed through the House of Representatives in November, but opposition grew louder as the Coalition, Greens and crossbench in the upper house turned against it. The bill failed to garner support from any Senator outside of the Labor Party. It was labelled “anti-free speech”, “extreme” and “state-sanctioned censorship” by its opponents.
Under the proposed laws, social media companies would have been required to identify content that was “reasonably verifiable as false” and remove or penalise it accordingly. The bill also allowed for penalties to be imposed for content deemed to cause “serious harm” through misinformation or disinformation. The legislation was criticised for its vague definitions and potential to stifle free speech. Shadow communications minister David Coleman said the legislation was “wide open to abuse” and did not respect free speech. “The provisions of the bill are extremely broad and would capture many things said by Australians every day,” Mr Coleman had said of the bill. Independent Senator David Pocock labelled the bill as “totally the wrong approach” and warned it threatened freedom of expression. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said her party would reject the bill due to concerns it would not “deal with the real issues” driving misinformation.
During public hearings in the Senate, almost every consulting representative expressed dissent to the proposed legislation. Professor Anne Twomey, the Catholic Archbishops Conference, Australian Christian Lobby and the Human Rights Commission all expressed concerns about the bill. Journalist and author Michael Shellenberger told Sky News on Wednesday the bill was one of the “most extreme” pieces of legislation he had seen. He warned it would give Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “extraordinary powers” to criminalise any content deemed misleading. Media lawyer Justin Quill told Sky News the “extraordinary” bill was an attempt by the government to “control the narrative” of public discourse. “It’s extraordinary that it was even contemplated, even more extraordinary that it was being put forward seriously,” Mr Quill said.
Source: Compiled by APN from media reports
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