Labor Withdraws Misinformation Bill

Australian Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on March 27, 2023. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Australia’s Albanese Labor government will drop its misinformation bill following a lack of support in the Senate.

“Based on public statements and engagements with Senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said in a statement on Nov. 24.

Labor is now looking into alternative means to combat growing misinformation and disinformation online.

These include strengthening legislation against the sharing of non-consensual and sexually explicit deepfakes and regulation reform for artificial intelligence.

Rowland also suggested a “proposal to enforce truth in political advertising for elections,” but there is currently little detail about how that would be enforced.

Labor dropped the bill after the Australian Greens said they would oppose the bill, which marked the final nail in the coffin after every other crossbench Senator indicated they would vote against the bill.

On Nov. 22, Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said there had been strong community opposition to the bill and experts had also raised serious concerns.

“As such, the Greens will be opposing the bill. The government should listen to community concern and withdraw this legislation,” she said.

“Instead, the government needs to focus on comprehensive reforms that tackle the business models and dangerous algorithms that fuel division and damage democracy, and legislate a duty of care so these platforms prevent harm in the first place.”

Hanson-Young, however, said mis- and disinformation does need to be tackled, describing it as a “growing danger to democracy, public discourse, health, and safety both in Australia and around the world.”

“However we are concerned this bill doesn’t actually do what it needs to do when it comes to stopping the deliberate mass distribution of false and harmful information,” she added.

Lack of Support Due to Concerns

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation Bill) 2024, provided the government with the power to fine social media companies for misinformation.

In post on social media platform X on Nov. 23, One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts said, “The Misinformation and Disinformation (MAD) Bill is designed to silence YOU and stop you from questioning the government. It’s censorship, plain and simple—and it MUST be rejected.”

Shadow Minister for Communications David Coleman indicated on Nov. 22 that the misinformation bill will not pass the Senate.

“Labor’s shocking misinformation bill is on track for massive defeat in the Senate next week,” Coleman said in a post on X.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton explained in October that the Coalition is standing firm against Labor’s misinformation bill because “government or bureaucrats shouldn’t decide what’s true or false.”

But Rowland told the ABC on Nov. 19 that the bill strikes the balance between both freedoms of expression and protection from harm.

“The harms include threats to our democracy, they include serious threats to people’s health and safety, and they can also be perpetuated by enemies of Australia,” she said.

What Was In the Bill?

The bill (pdf) provided the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with the power to hold digital platforms to account for misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.

This includes making rules, issuing remedial directions, imposing hefty fines, and handing out formal warnings.

Misinformation and disinformation is content that “contains information that is ”reasonably verifiable as false, misleading and deceptive“ and ”reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm.”

Serious harm includes harm to the operation or integrity of a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government electoral or referendum process.