The committee also supported increasing civil penalties against major social media platforms
The Senate environment and communications legislation committee has thrown its support behind legislation that will significantly increase the authority of the eSafety commissioner, reported News.com.au.
The recommendation is linked to Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16. The committee wrote in a report published yesterday 25 August that the enhanced powers were “necessary to enable the eSafety Commissioner to effectively investigate compliance with the existing law”, per a snippet published by News.com.au. The committee was also on board with increasing civil penalties against large social media platforms that violate the social media ban to drive what it called “meaningful deterrence”.
Nonetheless, the committee acknowledged the divided opinions on the social media ban’s effectiveness and indicated that the legislative proposal was merely part of efforts to boost online safety. It indicated that concerns about effectiveness and unforeseen impacts “should continue to be closely monitored as the framework matures, including through the independent review required under the Online Safety Act 2021”, per a snippet of the report published by News.com.au.
“The committee emphasises that the purpose of this bill is not to revisit the underlying policy of the social media minimum age framework or impose new obligations on social media platforms. Instead, it seeks to ensure that the eSafety commissioner has the regulatory tools needed to investigate and enforce obligations already enacted by the parliament”, the committee wrote in a snippet of the report published by News.com.au.
It pointed out that the proposal granted the eSafety commissioner information-gathering powers comparable to those of Commonwealth regulators like the ACCC and ASIC. Nonetheless, the committee said in a snippet of the report published by News.com.au that eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant must exercise these powers “proportionately and with regard to privacy and confidential information”, recognising the concerns raised about their reach.
While the Australian Human Rights Commission backed the bill, it warned that document powers could extend to parents and children and suggested the establishment of clear statutory limits.
Social media platform X challenged the proposal, claiming that the eSafety commissioner could ask for material “relating to a service that ‘may be’ an age-restricted social media platform”, per a snippet of the committee report published by News.com.au. The platform asserted that “coercive information-gathering powers should be subject to a sufficiently clear and established statutory trigger”.
Senator Fatima Payman called the bill “a piecemeal attempt to close the gate after the horse has bolted”, per a statement published by News.com.au. She suggested 11 amendments to the bill, including advancing the digital duty of care.
Payman, along with fellow senator Sarah Hanson-Young, highlighted the need for this duty of care, with Hanson-Young noting that it had yet to go before parliament.
“To make platforms safer we need to implement a digital duty of care. This would address the root cause of online harm: algorithms, and big tech’s complete lack of responsibility when it comes to keeping Australians safe”, Hanson-Young said in a snippet of the report published by News.com.au. “We need to urgently regulate algorithms, and make it clear that social media companies are responsible for the extreme harm their platforms perpetrate”.
Senator Sarah Henderson added that the bill should not be passed as it was on the grounds that document powers improperly impinged on children’s privacy. She criticized the Senate committee for recommending that the legislation move forward without changes.
“It must be reiterated that the online safety of Australians, particularly Australian children, is of paramount importance and it is incumbent on the parliament to do everything in its power to ensure our online safety laws are fit for purpose. It is clear the government has much more work to do”, Henderson said in a statement published by News.com.au.
This week, New Zealand introduced its Online Safety Bill into parliament. This law also bans under-16s from accessing social media.
