Coalition MPs continue to criticise Labor’s “misinformation” bill, warning it will have a chilling effect on free speech in Australia.
Likening the pending law to George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, Victorian MP Keith Wolahan said the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 would impact ordinary Australians more than politicians and academics.
“If passed in this form, [the Australian Communications Media Authority, or ACMA] will decide whether a digital platform is doing enough to combat misinformation,” he told Parliament on Aug. 2.
“There’s also no equality in the draft. You get special exemptions if you’re in government and you get special exemptions if you’re in academia—but not ordinary Australians,” he said.
“I am opposed to the government’s draft misinformation and disinformation bill. ‘Orwellian’ can be an overused adjective. From Animal Farm to 1984, George Orwell used metaphor as a simple warning. You can become what you hate,” he added.
Mis, Disinformation Sows Division: Minister
The Bill has been proposed by the federal Labor Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to grant the media regulatory body ACMA the power to monitor disinformation and misinformation online, threatening multi-million-dollar fines.“Mis and disinformation sows division within the community, undermines trust, and can threaten public health and safety,” Ms. Rowland said.
“If platforms fail to act to combat misinformation and disinformation over time, the ACMA would be able to draw on its reserve powers to register enforceable industry codes with significant penalties for non-compliance, or create a standard requiring platforms to lift the bar on their efforts.”
While disinformation refers to content that is intentionally spread with the intent to deceive or cause serious harm.
Serious harm is defined as harm that could incite hatred against a group in Australia, disrupt public order, harm the integrity of democratic processes, harm the environment, cause financial harm, and cause harm to the health of Australians.
“Voltaire famously said, ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ This famous quote was an expression of the Western world’s commitment, on both the left and the right, to free speech,” said Liberal Party Senator Slade Brockman from Western Australia, in a speech to Parliament on Aug. 2.
“Enclosed in these laws is a view that government can never be wrong. Any content from any level of government cannot be disinformation. The same protection does not apply to non-government parties or regular Australians discussing the same matters.
“Statements made by academics are exempt, but not statements made by non-academics on the same issues. Statements made as part of professional news content are exempt, but if a journalist made that same statement on a personal podcast then it could be caught as misinformation,” Mr. Brockman added.
“This proposed legislation aims to have so-called ’misinformation' removed from the internet by fining social media companies and other online companies that allow free speech,” wrote former MP George Christensen on the Citizen Go donation page.
