Albanese government softens digital harm bill to win Coalition support
Communications Minister Anika Wells said she will change the proposed ministerial powers in digital duty of care laws. This requires Coalition backing.
The bill requires big tech platforms to reduce foreseeable harm. Platforms that don't follow the law face fines of more than $100 million.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the ministerial powers are a blank cheque for political censorship. The Coalition will not support the bill in its current form.
Minister Wells said she will change the draft. Parliament should decide what counts as serious harm, not just the minister.
The bill covers harms like child sexual exploitation, grooming, threats of violence, harassment and self-harm content. Wells said the law could have helped in December.
That's when Grok let users nudify photos of children and teens. The law could have stopped it faster.
The bill also recommends platforms like TikTok and Instagram let users pick their feeds. Users could follow only accounts they choose.
This is instead of feeds the computer picks.
- More than $100 million
- Fine for non-compliance
- December
- Grok nudification incident
- Angus Taylor opposes ministerial powers
- Coalition position
Why it mattersThe bill shapes what online platforms must do to protect Australians from harm. Coalition support could mean the bill becomes law faster.
AustraliaIf passed, Australian social media users would see new feed controls and platforms would face major penalties for not stopping child exploitation and other serious harms.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 11 d ago
