By Staff Writer.
Just days after proposing legislation to force social media platforms to reveal the identity of online trolls, the Australian Government is upping the pressure. In December, the Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety will begin an Inquiry into toxic material on social media platforms and the dangers it poses.
Chaired by NSW Liberal MP Lucy Wicks, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter are some of the social media platforms expected to face intense questioning.
“It’s hard to have confidence that always you’ll be safe online,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison when announcing the Inquiry. “We know this is an issue of concern. For many years now, we’ve been standing up to the big digital companies.
“We’re saying something very simple. ‘You built it. You make it safe, and if you won’t, we will make you.’”
The Inquiry will have a particular focus on children’s safety online and comes in the wake of similar inquiries in the UK and US that tackled online racism, sexism, bullying and hate speech.
Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher says the Inquiry is an important opportunity for parents to detail their concerns and experiences about how big tech and social media impacts their lives.
“The internet is wonderful,” the Minister says. “But it has to be safe – that is non-negotiable.”
Among the big names to be invited to speak are Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, journalist Erin Molan, and AFL players Adam Goodes and Tayla Harris.
The Inquiry will examine the potential impacts of online harms on the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, examine whether algorithms used by social media platforms permit, increase or reduce online harms, and scrutinise the take-up and impact of industry measures such as age verification and identification policies.
The announcement builds on a long-running campaign against social media and tech companies by the Morrison Government.
Earlier this year, the Government introduced the News Media Bargaining Code that required social media and other online companies to pay local news publishers for the news content made available or linked on their platforms.
The Identify and Disrupt Bill 2020 gave local law enforcement agencies the power to take over social media accounts, and monitor the account holder’s communications, without needing a warrant.
On the weekend, the Morrison Government announced legislation that would force social media platforms and tech companies to reveal the identities of online trolls.
“This is not the sovereign nation of Instagram,” said one Government Minister. “This is the sovereign nation of Australia.”
Inquiry Chair Lucy Wicks calls the Government’s crackdown on social media and tech companies an important issue. She says social media and the online environment needs to be made safer.
“Unfortunately, too many of us have a (adverse social media) story to tell, and the age of those telling the story is getting younger and younger. We want to do all we can to ensure the stories of the past are not the stories of the future.”
The Inquiry will hand down its report by February 20, 2022.
