Aus to make Big Tech firms hand over misinfo data

SYDNEY: Australia’s media regulator will be able to force internet companies to share data about how they have handled misinformation and disinformation under new laws that will bolster government efforts to rein in Big Tech.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will also be able to enforce an internet industry code on uncooperative platforms, the government said on Monday, joining others around the world seeking to reduce the spread of harmful falsehoods online.

The planned laws are a response to an ACMA investigation that found four-fifths of Australian adults had experienced misinformation about Covid-19 and 76% thought online platforms should do more to cut the amount of false and misleading content online.

The laws broadly align with efforts by Europe to curb damaging online content, which are due to take effect by the end of 2022, although the European Union has said it wants even tougher measures to stop disinformation given some of the output from Russian state-owned media during the invasion of Ukraine.

“Digital platforms must take responsibility for what is on their sites and take action when harmful or misleading content appears,” communications minister Paul Fletcher said in a statement.

Australians were most likely to see misinformation on larger services like Meta Platforms’s Facebook and Twitter, the ACMA said.

False narratives typically started with “highly emotive and engaging posts within small online conspiracy groups” and were “amplified by international influencers, local public figures, and by coverage in the media”, it added.

The authority also noted that disinformation, which involves intentionally spreading false information to influence politics or sow discord, was continuing to target Australians. Facebook had removed four disinformation campaigns in Australia from 2019 to 2020, it said.