- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
Menu
Australian adults who are experiencing online abuse will be able to report incidents to the eSafety commissioner under new laws that have come into force.
The new safety laws will compel social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram to remove posts categorised as bullying or abusive within 24 hours.
Failure to take down the posts will result in up to $111,000 for individuals or a $555,000 fine for companies.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the new laws would target online trolls.
“We now have new protections for Australians who are subject to vicious, online abuse,” Fletcher told the Seven Network.
“What we know is that people who are the victim of this, what they want most of all is to have the material taken down as quickly as possible,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the social media companies needed to be held accountable for the content posted to their platforms.
“The vindictive nastiness has to be brought under control, and the people who have to control it are the people making money out of it,” he told the Seven Network.
“The premise should remain with the person who makes the money, and that is Facebook and Instagram.”
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant also welcomed the commencement of the Online Safety Act, which provides additional protections for Australian adults in the fight against online harms.
“The Online Safety Act has now come into force and makes Australia’s existing laws for online safety more expansive and much stronger,” Grant said.
However, Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon said the new laws would not have much of an impact.
“The impact of bullying on the playground is immediate, no matter where it occurs, but in the playground, you get kicked out of the play area,” Fitzgibbon said.
“This is not kicking anyone off social media, I am not sure whether that is legally or technically possible,” he said.
The online protections have come as the government held a federal inquiry into online safety, where representatives from some of the world’s biggest social media companies have been questioned.
Other legislation is being debated on whether social media companies would be forced to identify anonymous trolls.
with news from AAP
Zoe is a content creator, specialising in speech and corporate communications. She is currently the content producer of Supply Chain Channel— a learning ecosystem dedicated to connecting and empowering the Australian supply chain community.
