‘Misinformation’ Bill Delayed to Consider Possible Religious Protections

A woman in Washington, DC, views a manipulated video on Jan. 24, 2019, that changes what is said by President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama, illustrating how deepfake technology can deceive viewers. ROB LEVER/AFP via Getty Images

The Australian Labor government is planning to delay “misinformation” and “disinformation” legislation after massive backlash to the draft bill.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has indicated that “doing nothing is not an option” but will delay the introduction of the legislation to Parliament for now.

The government received 23,000 submissions to a consultation on the legislation, the majority of which were opposed to the bill.

The Communications and Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill (pdf) would provide government bureaucrats with the power to patrol and enforce misinformation online, including issuing fines to social media companies.

The public consultation on the proposed legislation ran from June 24 to Aug. 20, 2023. The government was initially planning to introduce the bill later this year but is now reportedly looking to delay it until 2024.

Bill May Include Religious Expression Changes

The minister is considering possible changes, including possibly providing protections for religious expression.

“The government is considering refinements to the bill, including to definitions, exemptions, and clarification on religious freedom, among other things,” Ms. Rowland said on Nov. 12.

“In the face of seriously harmful content that sows division, undermines support for pillars of our democracy, or disrupts public health responses, doing nothing is not an option.”

However, the Opposition remains fundamentally opposed to Labor’s misinformation bill, Shadow Minister for Communications David Coleman said.

Mr. Coleman said the “humiliating backdown” on religious freedoms barely scratched the surface of the many problems with Labor’s deeply flawed bill.

“It also doesn’t deal with the central problem of the bill which would see the opinions of everyday Australians censored. The government’s exemption from the proposed misinformation law has also been widely slammed,” Mr. Coleman said.

“There have been an extraordinary 23,000 submissions and comments on the government’s draft Bill—with the vast majority of the fraction published so far being hostile to Labor’s plan.”

Opposition Raises Concerns with Bill

Speaking to Parliament on Nov. 13, Mr. Coleman said it was “one of the worst pieces of legislation ever put before this parliament.”

“The government has begun the process of walking that back, of delaying the bill, of taking provisions out of the bill because it is, frankly, one of the worst pieces of legislation ever put before this parliament,” Mr. Coleman said.

“That was a judgement of the minister because the minister published that legislation, and you don’t publish legislation because you think it’s a bad idea; you publish legislation because you think it’s a good idea.”

A phone displaying a statement from the head of security policy at Meta, in front of a screen displaying a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on his soldiers to lay down their weapons, in Washington on Jan. 30, 2023. OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

In a social media post, the shadow minister highlighted the bill exempts itself but not its critics.

“Fines of $9,000 per day can apply if people don’t answer allegations of misinformation. What sort of Government would do that?”