Tech giants could face billions of dollars in fines for failing to tackle disinformation under proposed Australian laws, which a watchdog yesterday said would bring “mandatory” standards to the little-regulated sector.
Under the proposed legislation, the owners of platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and podcasting services would face penalties worth up to 5 percent of annual global turnover — some of the highest proposed anywhere in the world.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), a government watchdog, would be granted powers to force companies to prevent misinformation or disinformation from spreading and stop it from being monetized.
Photo: AP
“The legislation, if passed, would provide the ACMA with a range of new powers to compel information from digital platforms, register and enforce mandatory industry codes as well as make industry standards,” an ACMA spokesperson said.
The watchdog would not have the power to take down or sanction individual posts, they said.
However, it could punish platforms for failing to monitor and combat intentionally “false, misleading and deceptive” content that could cause “serious harm.”
The rules would echo legislation expected to come into force in the EU, where tech giants could face fines as high as 6 percent of annual turnover and outright bans on operating inside the bloc.
Australia has been at the forefront of efforts to regulate digital platforms, prompting tech firms to make mostly unfulfilled threats to withdraw from the Australian market.
The proposed bill seeks to strengthen the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation that was launched in 2021, but has had limited effect.
Tech giants including Adobe, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok and Twitter are signatories of the code.
The planned laws were unveiled on Sunday and come amid a surge of misinformation in Australia concerning a referendum this year on indigenous rights.
Australians are to be asked whether the constitution should recognize aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and if an indigenous consultative body should be created to weigh in on proposed legislation.
The Australian Electoral Commission said it had witnessed an increase in misinformation and abuse online about the referendum process.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS