The federal media watchdog will keep an eye on “problematic content” related to the Voice to Parliament referendum in a bid to help online platforms self-regulate.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) was awarded $7.9 million over four years in last week’s federal budget to develop powers to police misinformation online.
It would not elaborate on how the proposed powers would work, and refused to make any officials available for an interview with Crikey — insisting on sending written comments instead.
“It would be premature for the ACMA to comment on the potential use of powers and associated projects, ahead of public consultation,” a spokesperson said.
However, it did confirm it would monitor how platforms deal with misinformation related to the referendum.
“The ACMA currently oversees the Australian voluntary Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation. It is the responsibility of platforms to assess individual pieces of content on their platforms,” the spokesperson said.
“However, as part of our oversight role, we will be monitoring the processes put in place by platforms to address problematic content that affects the integrity of the Voice to Parliament referendum process.”
The ACMA’s new anti-misinformation powers were announced by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland in January: “A new and graduated set of powers will enable the ACMA to monitor efforts and compel digital platforms to do more, placing Australia at the forefront in tackling harmful online misinformation and disinformation.”
The government is working on a draft bill that will be put out for consultation ahead of a likely introduction to Parliament in the second half of this year.
The ACMA spokesperson said: “In the budget, the ACMA was provided $7.9 million over four years from 2023-24 to administer new powers [to] combat online misinformation and disinformation.
“The funding will be used to support the development of the new powers, as well as increase the ACMA’s capacity and capability to monitor effectiveness of measures to reduce mis- and disinformation.”
ACMA described online misinformation in a 2021 report as an “increasing threat to Australians” that “undermines public health efforts, causes harm to individuals, businesses and democratic institutions, and in some cases, incites individuals to carry out acts of violence”.
