Social Media Has Made Political Discourse Bitter, Meaner: Australian PM

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the crowd at the Liberal Party election campaign launch in Brisbane, Australia on May 15, 2022. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Political discourse has become more “bitter” and “mean” with social media transforming how people interact with each other, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“I think social media is a real problem in our society. It has advantages, I have no doubt about that, but this is one of the reasons why—as a government—we’ve been trying to take on the big social media companies to get more responsibility into it,” he told 2SM radio on May 19. “But I do worry about the role of social media undermining the civility of our society. But also, particularly, about the impact it has on young people with their mental health.”

“It’s made political discussion in this country a lot more bitter and a lot more mean.”

Morrison’s government has campaigned heavily for major tech giants to regulate their platforms to curb online abuse and bullying.

The wide-ranging Online Safety Act, passed in 2021, granted new powers to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to compel social media companies to take down “seriously harmful content” or else risk fines. In addition, individuals can report content they find harmful to the commissioner.

“The scheme is not intended to regulate hurt feelings, purely reputational damage, bad online reviews, strong opinions or banter,” Grant said in a statement. “Serious harm could include material which sets out realistic threats, places people in real danger, is excessively malicious or is unrelenting.”

Retired Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon at the time, doubted the effectiveness of the laws.

“The impact of bullying on the playground is immediate, no matter where it occurs, but in the playground, you get kicked out of the play area,” he said. “This is not kicking anyone off social media; I am not sure whether that is legally or technically possible.”

The prime minister said that if he were re-elected, he would push for social media platforms to also take responsibility for damaging anonymous content.

“There are a lot of people going on social media trolling and abusing people, and nobody knows who they are so they just get away with it,” Morrison said.

“If you just let someone come on your radio station and abuse someone ... your radio station would be liable,” he told 2SM host John Laws.