Tech companies must obey local laws and pay for social damage

Capitulation by the eSafety Commissioner in the Federal Court case against social media platform X should be a wake-up call for everyone that more must be done to bring tech giants to account. A first start is to ensure that companies operating in Australia obey our laws and make a financial contribution to fixing the damage they do to society, including to the mental health of vulnerable young people. Companies that publish information, as Facebook and others do, must be treated as what they are, publishers. Regulating international companies with deep pockets and a determination to fight in court is not easy.

In refusing to extend an injunction against X on the publication of video images of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in a western Sydney church, Federal Court judge Geoffrey Kennett said a global ban was not a reasonable step under Australian law because it would be “ignored or disparaged in other countries”. More to the point, it was ignored by Elon Musk and X. So, too, were complaints by well-known business figures, including Andrew Forrest, that scammers were using their likeness and reputation to defraud innocent people. Australian courts are powerless to intervene.

As it did with the media bargaining code that forces digital platforms to pay for news material they use for commercial gain, Australia has a big role to play in sorting out the rules for digital media globally. Research shows one in three Australians feels negatively towards social media. Eighty-three per cent of Australians agree that major technology and social media companies such as Meta, TikTok and X should be subject to Australian regulations and local laws. Fifty-four per cent of Australians say they would support a ban for a social media company from operating in Australia if it refused to comply with Australian standards and requirements.

Governments must take notice of what the majority of Australians want, and act. As News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said in a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, reforms should start with new “social licence” laws to force digital companies to deal fairly in countries in which they operate or risk being shut out. Under the social licence plan, the federal government would be able to make the platforms liable for all content that is amplified, curated and controlled by them. Penalties should include criminal sanctions for companies and their executives that agree to the licence but then break the rules.

Digital media can be a force for good but it has proved unable to regulate itself. It is past time the online wild west is brought to an end.