According to the media regulator, Australia’s revised disinformation code still doesn’t address widespread group messaging and needs stricter guidelines for digital media businesses to report on damage reduction.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority expressed support for the new voluntary code of conduct on disinformation and misinformation that was released in late December, but it also made it clear that it would keep pushing for legislation that would give authorities the authority to require social media companies to disclose information about how they are addressing complaints and battling misinformation.
The Morrison administration supported Acma’s campaign in March 2022, and the new communications minister, Michelle Rowland, suggested in June that social media companies might soon be required to turn over data on posts and audience size so that the government can decide whether to tighten laws against misinformation.
Online misinformation is self-regulatory in Australia. The voluntary code of conduct was created by the tech industry’s trade group, Digital Industry Group Inc., whose members include Google, Apple, Meta, Twitter, and TikTok.
Last month, the code was revised to remove the requirement that harm be “imminent” and to redefine harm as communication conveying a “serious and genuine” threat.
Additionally, it added a promise to provide users access to “options relating to [their] content” and “general information concerning… use of recommender systems,” such as suggested tweets or TikTok’s For You page.
The policy also mandated transparency reporting for services in Australia with fewer than 1 million active monthly users, a change that was intended to boost the involvement of smaller platforms.
Acma recognized these “many enhancements” and commended modifications that increase transparency regarding the locations where customers can file complaints in a statement to Guardian Australia.
But, according to the statement, “the revised code does not address all the Acma’s concerns outlined in our submission… including the development of a more robust reporting framework and the expansion of the code to cover the propagation of misinformation on messaging services that enable large-scale group messaging.”
False reports of child abduction spreading through WhatsApp in India and through Facebook Messenger in Australia during the 2019 election both involved mass or planned direct communications.
Before giving the government any additional advice, Acma stated that it would examine the revised code. However, it added that in 2021 it had called for “stronger regulatory oversight over platform activities and recommended new regulatory powers.”
The social media companies that have signed the code of conduct provide reports on their efforts to combat misinformation, but Acma has stated that it would like formal information-gathering authority, including the capacity to request data specific to Australia on the efficacy of counter-disinformation and misinformation measures. Additionally, “reserve powers” to establish legally obligatory regulations and behavior codes were demanded.
We still believe that these powers are necessary to give the Acma the ability to take additional action, if necessary.
Sunita Bose, managing director of Digi, stated in December that Digi was committed to the code’s “continuous enhancement” and that it was “an crucial safeguard for Australians against the harms that emerge from misinformation and disinformation.”
According to her, “We carefully considered input and made improvements that strengthen the code in a number of areas.”
“This content and behavior are likely to spread to other online spaces as mainstream platforms improve their strategies for combating misinformation and deception. To make the code more accessible to smaller businesses, we are also implementing adjustments right now.
