Most of you have heard about the Australian government misinformation bill that is being pushed by Albanese and Co. As with bits of most government legislation, it is worded in such a way as to sound quite innocuous and safe – even helpful and necessary. But that is so often not the case, and the opposite outcome is what we must fear.
Indeed, whenever you hear about the State determining what is mis- and disinformation, you should be very worried indeed. This is how the government begins its explanation of the bill:
The Albanese Government will introduce legislation to Parliament to give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) new powers to hold digital platforms to account and improve efforts to combat seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation. The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 is focused on combatting the most seriously harmful content on digital platforms, and contains strengthened protections for freedom of speech.
As mentioned, just what is “harmful” misinformation and disinformation? The government not long ago declared that anyone questioning the Covid panic porn, lockdowns, and medical tyranny was spreading false info, and they took steps to suppress it.
As has often been said, ‘These guys don’t ban hate speech, they ban speech they hate’. That of course can include anything, including criticisms of the government. There certainly is plenty to criticise about the Government, but with these new powers, people can be penalised for daring to open their mouths and share their concerns.
Many have already warned about the Big Brother implications of this bill. Claire Lehmann for example said this in part:
The bill defines misinformation as “content (that is) reasonably verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive” and “reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm”. The definition of “serious harm” includes harm to electoral or referendum processes, harm to public health, vilification of a group, as well as imminent harm to the Australian economy.
The body in charge of interpreting these definitions and ensuring that digital platforms (social media companies) comply with this legislation is the Australian Communications and Media Authority. It will be vested with increased powers. The bill “will lead to a culture of pre-emptive censorship and chilling effects”, Sydney barrister Gray Connolly told me. “Measures taken to combat misinformation and disinformation could themselves risk undermining Australia’s democracy and freedoms,” Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay wrote.
And in a submission on the bill the Law Council of Australia has said: “Given the breadth of the definition of ‘misinformation’ as outlined above, the Law Council cautions that a digital platform is unlikely to have sufficient expertise or adequate resources to make accurate and completely informed determinations as to whether content is false.” To be compliant with the law, platforms will be required to self-censor large swathes of information that appears online.
It is possible to recognise that the spread of false and malicious information is a problem, while also recognising that any centralised top-down control of information is a bigger problem. This bill will embolden those who already exploit the term to brook no dissent, foreclose inquiry and declare commonly shared words and concepts to be harmful.
Queensland Senator Matthew Canavan said the “proposed misinformation laws are just a modern reincarnation of blasphemy laws. Misinformation laws are there to protect them, not you.” He said further:
Last week. the federal government tabled in parliament a modern spin on blasphemy laws, with the words updated. Anyone who has the temerity to engage in free speech will now be guilty of spreading misinformation. Notionally, these laws are to protect us from wicked and evil people who spread lies on social media. According to the government’s own explanatory materials for the Bill. these devious people can even go as far as causing others to have lower confidence in government and lower trust in scientific institutions.” The horror! The government gets more specific when it highlights that its misinformation laws could help silence people who spread “false, misleading or deceptive information about … referendum proposals”.
Keep in mind that these laws come just a year after the Australian people comprehensively said “No” to Labor’s Voice referendum proposal. Rather than accept that most people had a different view to him, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed his loss on misinformation. Misinformation laws are not there to protect you, they are there to protect the powerful from scrutiny.
The laws only suppress views that cause “serious harm”. But serious harm is defined broadly and can mean anything from causing harm to electoral processes. public health measures (such as lockdowns). the economy or even “public confidence in the banking system”.
Michelle Pearse of the ACL said this in part:
“Misinformation” includes content that the digital platform provider would deem “misleading” and “reasonably likely” to “contribute to serious harm”. “Serious harm” includes “vilification” of a group distinguished (among other things) by sexual orientation and gender identity – we know how broad the definition of “vilification” can be. It also includes “physical injury” to an individual, where “physical injury” (as described in the explanatory notes) includes “spreading false information that attempts to undermine and reverse the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people – by implying that these rights are coming at the expense of other groups.”
But that is exactly what’s happening in Australia. The rights of LGBITQ+ people are coming at the expense of other groups, including women and Christians. Facebook, Instagram, X, or any other digital platform provider would be forced to remove content highlighting this fact, silencing the legitimate concerns of Australians.
Digital platforms can be penalised for non-compliance with government expectations but not for over-censorship. It’s highly likely that posts regarding abortion and the dangers of puberty blockers would be deemed as harm to public health, that criticism of trans ideology or immigration policy would be deemed as vilification. There’s no knowing where this will end.
Where the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) should be safeguarding the free speech of Australians, instead they will be requiring digital platforms to control our public discourse. In essence, ACMA becomes the Ministry for Truth. From public health to politics to the economy and ideology, ACMA will determine what you are allowed to say online.
Also, Australian attorney Chris Baxter said this:
Today is the darkest day for Freedom of Speech in Australian history. The Labor party has introduced its revised misinformation legislation to Parliament. Having read the legislation and posted my interim thoughts throughout the day, here is a summary of why you should be extremely concerned about it.
This legislation creates a two-tier rule book for what Australians can say, depending on who they are. On the one hand, Government approved “professional” media gets a free pass to publish whatever they want, and on the other, all sorts of punitive actions can be taken against platforms that allow citizen journalism. Whilst the punitive measures are cleverly not directly aimed at authors, they are such that digital platforms will have no choice but to shadow ban or otherwise silence those who persist with posting information the Government deems as misinformation or disinformation. Government has also created mechanisms for the state to intrude within private chat groups that are beyond a threshold size that they will decide.
A register of misinformation will be created and maintained by ACMA and published on their website. No doubt this will become an important reference tool for institutionalising the Government’s narrative, if it is not already, within mainstream media and education. Of course no totalitarian imposition on free speech is possible without threats to the individual and so now any person who ACMA deems to have information in relation to what it regards as misinformation can be hauled before its “secret police”, at threat of fines.
Various sites are campaigning on this war against free speech, including using petitions to present to the Australian government. George Christensen has written this about the proposed bill:
This Bill is about controlling what you say, what you share, and what you believe. Your voice and mine will be censored, and the government will have the power to decide what’s true and what’s not….
With this Bill, Big Tech will be ordered to enforce the government’s narrative, censoring anything deemed “misinformation.” But who decides what’s misinformation? They do. Unelected bureaucrats will have the power to control the flow of information.
This Bill isn’t just a threat to free speech—it’s a threat to your personal freedom. Once the government can control speech, they control everything. You won’t be able to challenge the system, question policies, or express opinions without fear of being silenced. Think it won’t affect you? Think again. If you challenge government policies, criticise election outcomes, or question health advice, your posts could be erased without warning. This Bill is a direct attack on free speech, and we can’t afford to let it pass. Sign the petition on this page NOW to tell the Senate Committee to reject this Orwellian Bill before it’s too late.
What’s at stake? If we lose this fight, free speech in Australia is finished. The government will have the power to silence anyone who speaks out. Australians will be afraid to share their thoughts or express opinions, knowing that everything they say online could be erased.
Public debate will die, and we’ll be left with a one-sided narrative controlled by the government. But if we win? It will be a turning point. It will show that the people still have power, that we will not be silenced. It will be a victory for free speech and democracy.
The government is moving fast, and they want this Bill passed before anyone realises what’s happening. We need to act NOW. This is your chance to defend free speech in Australia and stop the Online Censorship Bill from becoming law. Sign the petition on this page NOW and tell the Senate Committee to protect our fundamental right to free speech. Together, we can stop this Bill and preserve our democracy.
And everyone is encouraged to make a submission, no matter how brief, saying NO to this dangerous and draconian bill.
These various warnings are spot on. And we must recall earlier warnings about the Statist control of ideas and information. As George Orwell put it in his important novel 1984:
Do you realize that the past, starting from yesterday, has been actually abolished? ….. Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.
We are very quickly heading to that dark place. Please speak out now while you still have a chance to do so.
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