Warning on social media hatred
SOCIAL media giants could be forced to remove harmful online abuse against Australians within 24 hours from next year after a proposed, world-first “take-down scheme” received millions of dollars in funding.
The three-year, $39m investment was pledged in this year’s budget. The “adult cyber abuse take-down scheme” will be run by Australia’s esafety Commissioner and will form part of a new Online Safety Act due to be introduced to parliament before the end of the year.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the scheme was designed to give the commissioner “further tools to protect Australians from seriously harmful material” on social media.
“The new Act will also set out very clearly our expectations of the giant digital companies when it comes to keeping Australians — children and adults — safe online,” he said.
“Australians are sick of the increasing toxicity of the internet, particularly where our kids are being exposed to harms such as cyber-bullying, violent pornography and image-based abuse.”
The esafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said cyber abuse had skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, with adults now the most targeted group for online hate and bullying.
Julie Inman Grant.
“The tenor, tone and velocity of adult cyber abuse has heightened over the past six months, with the number of reports into esafety surpassing youth cyber-bullying reports,” she said. “Adult cyber abuse can have devastating impacts on individuals, leading to lingering emotional and mental distress.”
Online abuse reports to the esafety Commission rose by 87 per cent between March and August this year compared to 2019, she said, with women targeted in two out of every three incidents.
“We know that women who experience online hate are 1.6 times more likely to be targeted and demeaned as a result of their gender or physical appearance than men,” she said.
The take-down scheme would encourage victims to report “menacing, harassing or offensive” messages targeting them on social networks.
Victims must first report abuse to the social media platforms. The esafety Commission could order 24-hour takedown directions if their pleas went unanswered.