Dick Smith ‘pleased’ as Scam Prevention Framework passes with $50m fines

The outspoken businessman has welcomed new legislation that will impose fines of up to $50m on social media companies, banks and telcos that fail to actively detect and prevent scams.

The new Scam Prevention Framework which poses fines of up to $50m has passed through parliament.

Dick Smith has applauded new government legislation that hangs a $50m fine in front of social media giants that fail to take down scams using a likeness of him and other well-known figures through deepfake technology in an attempt to fleece innocent Australians of their savings.

The new Scam Preventions Framework passed through parliament on Thursday will also force Australian banks and telcos to take greater action against scammers or face multimillion-dollar penalties.

Mr Smith told the Australian he was “very pleased” and that “the government should make sure that the content provider is legally responsible”.

“I know a lot of Australians have lost money through scams, and I am absolutely amazed that the ACCC’s action against Facebook came to nothing, nothing was finalised,” he said.

Mr Smith said he didn’t understand why social media companies weren’t made to adhere to the same standards as other mediums, including print newspapers.

“It’s pretty simple. If you started running ads in The Australian by criminal gangs, people would take action against the owners of The Australian, whereas that doesn’t seem to happen in relation to Facebook,” he said.

“They used my likeness and had artificial intelligence lip-synching my voice selling some scam when it’s not me at all. It had my likeness, my accent and synchronised my voice as if I was doing some interview, but it was completely fabricated by criminal gangs somewhere, and we don’t know where.”

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith. Picture: Jane Dempster

On Thursday, as the legislation passed, the Albanese government warned it was time for the telco, banking and social media sectors to work with regulators on enforceable codes.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the new laws give Australians “the strongest defences against scammers and put us ahead of the world in scams prevention and protection”.

Companies captured under the codes will be required to take steps to identify and stop scams and scammers.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said it was a priority for the government to stop scammers.

“The Scams Prevention Framework will help further strengthen scam defences, and I encourage the telecommunications sector and social media platforms to work with the regulators to develop the enforceable industry codes that will provide Australian consumers the best protection from the scourge of scams,” she said.

Meta and Snap referred queries from The Australian to Digital Industry Group Inc, the body representing it and other social networking services.

Managing director Sunita Bose said DIGI supported the new framework and believed the government should encourage more sectors to collaborate on anti-scam defences.

“Scammers must be stopped at every step of their game, on every service across the economy they exploit, and we welcome the government’s efforts to prevent these relentless criminals robbing Australians of hard-earned savings,” she said.

“The mandatory sector-specific codes are a critically important piece of the Scams Prevention Framework, because if every part of the economy that’s exploited by scammers has relevant safeguards in place to bolster their defences, consumers will be better protected.”

DIGI also supported cross-border law enforcement efforts to target offshore scam centres, Ms Bose said.

Google’s manager of public policy Bec Turner told The Australian that “tackling scams requires a collaborative and considered approach” and that the search engine giant looked forward to working with local banks, telcos and the Australian government to clamp down on scams.

“We support the government’s ongoing efforts to combat scams and recognise the significant harm they cause. Google has a long history of actively contributing to the fight against scams including safe browsing which helps protect 5 billion devices, Google Play Protect which scans 100 billion apps every day, and Gmail which also blocks over 100 million phishing attempts every day,” she said.

A Telstra spokesman said the telco welcomed the new legislation. Despite Telstra blocking millions of scam calls and SMS every month, “there’s always more to do and we must evolve together to combat the changing nature of the threat environment and protect Australians from harmful scams”, he said.

“We have a long history of working alongside the Australian government on both operational security and cyber policy and we’ve been deeply invested in helping detect and disrupt scammers through a broad spectrum of different means.”

The Communications Alliance has backed the legislation and recent amendments, which had previously left telcos liable for penalties under four different codes.

CA chief executive Luke Coleman said it was reassuring to see the amendment would consider “compliance with an industry code will be given ‘primary consideration’ in determining whether a provider has taken reasonable steps to prevent scams under the broader Scams Prevention Framework”.

Australian Information Industry Association chief executive Simon Bush said it was “particularly encouraged by the recognition of technology’s role in the Framework”.

Mr Bush said increased investment in threat and fraud detection, including the use of AI, would be the key to identifying anomalies and detecting further scams.

The Australian Banking Association, which represents the bigger commercial banks in Australia, said anti-scam codes as well as coming codes for the banking, telco, and digital platforms sectors are crucial to stopping scams.

Its chief executive Anna Bligh said the new framework “prioritises preventing people from being exposed to scams in the first place”.

“Australian banks will also be held to account for the actions they are taking to protect customers. Banks are ramping up anti-scam measures through our industry’s Scam-Safe Accord,” she said.

But ABA chief policy officer Christopher Taylor said he believed the government should look to go further with anti-scam efforts.

“We also encourage the government to move promptly to expand the framework to other sectors such as cryptocurrency, superannuation and other payment providers,” he said.

Customer Owned Banking Association boss Mike Lawrence said a multisector approach was essential to reduce scams across the country.

“While Scamwatch data shows promising momentum in Australia’s battle to combat scams, this new legislation will be crucial for building on that progress,” he said.

Originally published as Dick Smith ‘pleased’ as Scam Prevention Framework passes with $50m fines