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In a new bill filed in parliament, social media companies would be made liable for libellous and defamatory posts on their platforms.
On Monday, Nationals MP Anne Webster introduced the proposed legislation, urging corporations like Facebook and Twitter to be more accountable.
The e-safety commissioner would have the authority to examine charges of defamatory content posted online and issue notifications to service providers under the proposed legislation.
The person who published the information, as well as the social media platform, will be held accountable for defamation if the posts are not deleted 48 hours after a request is made.
The law also allows a federal minister to set basic standards for how defamatory posts are hosted on social media platforms.
The changes, according to Dr. Webster, will give social media users more protection.
“There is very little impetus on social media services to ensure and protect users from harm and defamation,” she told parliament.
“Big tech platforms write their own rules and the rules are inadequately and sporadically enforced.”
It comes after a court awarded the Victorian MP an $875,000 settlement last year after it was discovered that a conspiracy theorist published a series of defamatory posts against her.
The payout also included Dr. Webster’s husband and the nonprofit the two formed to assist young mothers.
Dr. Webster received an apology from Facebook for the delay in responding to the defamatory posts.
Dr. Webster told parliament on Monday that she was concerned that the defamatory posts made against her would have an impact on her charity’s operations.
“I was concerned these mothers would be driven away from the service by lies and left even more vulnerable,” she said.
While the bill said that the legislation will certainly limit the right to free expression, it also stated that it was necessary to protect people from online harassment and abuse.
With AAP.
Dee Antenor is an experienced writer who specialises in the not-for-profit sector and its affiliations. She is the content producer for Third Sector News, an online knowledge-based platform for and about the Australian NFP sector.
