The Australian government has announced a law to combat online defamation, harassment and trolling that will allow lawsuits to be filed over contentious content, while social media giants will be responsible for collecting data on anonymous users who post such content.
Critics, however, say that the bill does not go far enough and that the measures can be easily circumvented, Radio Free Europe reports the world media.
Social media giants will be forced to hand over data about anonymous users who post defamatory posts in what the Australian government claims is the world's first crackdown on trolls, The Times reports.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that legislation, which would require Facebook and Twitter to reveal the identities of trolls, would be introduced in parliament this week.
The law will allow victims to sue for defamation if the offending posts are not removed, the London paper said, adding that there will be two ways to expose trolls and resolve disputes.
If someone believes that they have been defamed, harassed or attacked on social networks, they will be able to ask the platform to remove the offending material through the complaint mechanism. If the content is not taken down, the injured parties can go to court claiming they have been defamed and force the platform to provide information about the person who posted the disputed post and that person can then be sued.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said his Labor Party would wait to see the details of the law before taking a position, but questioned how easily the measures could be circumvented, as trolls could simply close their Australian account and use a foreign address to they open again.
According to the Australian government's proposal, social media platforms will be required to reveal the identity of anonymous trolls or they will face defamation payments, Bloomberg points out.
People who believe they have been defamed online will be able to obtain court orders requiring internet giants such as Twitter and Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, to identify the individuals responsible for the posts or, according to Morrison, they will have to pay defamation costs.
Under existing law, social media companies are not considered publishers of material posted on their platforms, Bloomberg explains. If a user posts a slanderous comment on Facebook, the page owner bears legal responsibility.
While the Australian government is announcing some of the world's toughest anti-troll laws, experts say they won't help curb online bullying or cyber-hate, the Guardian reports.
Cyber hate expert and author of "Troll Hunting" Ginger Gorman said the law would not do enough to combat online abuse.
"Overall, I would say this is too little too late – so much real damage has already been done. And this doesn't go far enough," Gorman said, adding that social media platforms should protect the public as they constantly publish shocking content without any liability.
She said the German case, where social media companies can be fined up to 50 million euros if they don't delete posts containing racist, defamatory or otherwise illegal speech within 24 hours, showed that governments can take serious action. .
On the other hand, Dr. Lorin Rosevorn of the University of Melbourne said that it is easier to determine that something is defamation than when it comes to trolling and hate, since the definition of those terms can be subjective.
"For example, is repeatedly expressing a strongly worded opinion that differs from yours trolling? Some people would say yes, others would say no," she explained.
Roseborn also pointed out that one of the key issues of the proposed law is the collection of personal data and the complications that come with it. "Who's going to pay for the verification? If the data isn't really verified, I guess the most problematic social media users will just put in fake data."
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