Australia Drops Misinformation Bill Amid Senate Opposition

Australia’s Misinformation Bill was abandoned after Senate opposition and criticism over free speech. Michelle Rowland accused the Coalition of prioritizing partisanship above any attempt to navigate the public interest.

The Australian government has abandoned its proposed Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024, citing insufficient support in the Senate, as reported on a statement by communications minister Michelle Rowland.

The legislation aimed to address the dangers posed by harmful online misinformation and disinformation.

The Bill sought to hold digital platforms accountable by introducing enforceable measures to minimize harmful content, enhance transparency, and empower users.  It included mechanisms to tackle the spread of false information through algorithms, bots, fake accounts, and deep fakes, while protecting freedom of speech.

In her statement, Rowland says that despite support from crossbench MPs and constructive collaboration on refining the Bill, the government could not secure Senate approval.

An initial version of the legislation was revised to gain broader support, but the second draft also failed to secure parliamentary approval or address critics’ concerns, as reported by The Guardian.

The Coalition maintained its commitment to opposing the bill, while members of the Senate crossbench recently indicated they would either vote against it or were not persuaded enough to support it, said The Guardian.

In October, the Australian Human Rights Commission stated that “although there have been improvements to the bill, freedom of expression is not sufficiently protected,” as reported by The Guardian.

In her statement, Rowland accuses critics of the bill to have prioritized political partisanship over public interest, despite the Coalition’s earlier commitment to legislate similar safeguards while in government.

In response to the setback, the government has proposed alternative measures. These include legislation against non-consensual deep fakes, a truth-in-political-advertising framework for elections, and reforms to regulate artificial intelligence.

The opposition spokesperson, David Coleman, criticized the bill, stating it “betrayed our democracy” and represented “censorship laws in Australia,” as reported on ABC News.

“This bill would have had the effect of suppressing the free speech of everyday Australians, as platforms would have censored online content to avoid the threat of big fines,” Coleman said in a statement, as reported by ABC News.