Human rights org pushes against self-regulation of disinformation

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) has said that the federal government should register its own mandatory codes for how digital platforms deal with disinformation and misinformation.

HRLC senior lawyer Scott Cosgriff told iTnews that the voluntary codes written by industry associations for platforms like Facebook and Twitter should be replaced with one written by legislators or regulators.

“Other major jurisdictions like the EU have now recognised that self-regulation and co-regulation don’t work and shouldn’t be expected to work, yet Australia continues to rely on voluntary codes that let some of the most powerful companies in the world pick and choose from a set of rules written by the tech industry itself," Cosgriff said.

The non-government organisation’s submission [pdf] to a current parlimentary inquiry on the influence of international digital platforms suggested modelling new regulation on the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). 

“Under the DSA, very large platforms are required to undertake annual risk assessments to identify, analyse and assess any significant systemic risks stemming from the functioning and use of their services, including their algorithms, recommender systems, content moderation systems, terms and conditions, advertising systems or data-related practices,” the submission states.

Cosgriff added that “Australia needs comprehensive digital regulation that not only merely identifies harmful material after it is out there, but fixes the systems and processes that generate and amplify risks, such as the algorithms that determine what millions of people see every day.”

Adobe, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok and Twitter have signed up to Digital Industry Group Inc’s (DIGI's) ‘Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation’ [pdf].

The voluntary code includes commitments such as disrupting advertising and monetisation incentives for disinformation, improving public awareness of the sources of political advertising and releasing annual transparency reports on measures taken against the content. 

In January, communications minister Michelle Rowland said that the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) would receive the power to write and enforce its own code if it finds DIGI’s is inadequate for dealing with disinformation and misinformation. 

“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,” Rowland said at the time.

Rowland said that an exposure draft of legislation expanding ACMA’s regulatory powers over digital platforms would be released during the first half of the year.

As a first step, DIGI’s code will be extended to platforms that aren’t signatories to it.

The exposure draft of the legislation will form the basis of a subsequent public consultation, with legislation to be introduced later in the year.

The moves are in response to recommendations made by the ACMA in 2021.