Australian Government Scraps Plan To Penalize Facebook, Instagram, X

The Government of Australia has announced that it will not impose fines on Facebook, Instagram and X for failing to control misinformation.

The decision comes after facing significant opposition in the Senate, which rejected the proposed legislation early this year. The bill aimed to hold social media giants accountable for curbing harmful content, potentially fining them up to five percent of their global turnover.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland cited significant opposition as reason for withdrawing the proposed legislation. The minister stated, "Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate.”

Legislation was introduced in the Parliament recently, granting authorities the power to fine tech companies for violating online safety obligations.

The purpose was to stop the spread of harmful lies online, especially those affecting elections, public health, or putting people and services at risk. It added that those tech companies had immense power to ignore the laws.

Rowland expressed that the bill would have "ushered in an unprecedented level of transparency, holding big tech to account for their systems and processes to prevent and minimize the spread of harmful misinformation and disinformation online." As per the proposed law, online platforms were required to establishcodes of conduct to prevent the spread of dangerous falsehoods and obtain approval from a regulator.

However, the bill faced strong criticism, including from tech mogul Elon Musk, who labeled the Australian government ‘fascist’ for pursuing such regulations.

Some lawmakers mocked his comment. The government services minister Bill Shorten stated, "Elon Musk has had more positions on free speech than the Kama Sutra. When it's in his commercial interests, he is the champion of free speech, and when he doesn't like it, he shuts it all down.”