Labor’s laws ‘won’t stop the spread of hate’, says Executive Council of Australian Jewry

A leading Jewish body has warned that Labor’s revamped misinformation laws may not go far enough to combat the spread of hate speech and anti-Semitic content online.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin. Picture: John Feder

A leading Jewish body has warned that Labor’s revamped misinformation laws may not go far enough to combat the spread of hate speech and anti-Semitic content online, as the government faces a battle to pass the bill through the parliament.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has raised concerns that the legislation, which will empower the media watchdog to fine tech giants for misinformation and disinformation on their platforms, would not capture all websites hosting content that vilifies minority groups or denies aspects of the October 7 attack on Israel and the Holocaust.

Amid an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, the ECAJ said social media had been frequently used to spread “hate and extremism” which often has its roots in misinformation and disinformation.

In a joint submission responding to the second draft of the bill, the council’s president, Daniel Aghion, and co-chief executives Peter Wertheim and Alex Ryvchin proposed amendments including the establishment of an ombudsman to review complaints.

“The Jewish historical experience in relation to misinformation and disinformation is that in the war of ideas, truth does not always prevail in the short to medium term,” the submission says. “The impacts of misinformation and disinformation are far more accentuated in an era where social media is so prevalent.”

The ECAJ also proposed that the bill should be modified so that the emphasis is on the harm caused by content rather than the way it was caused, and questioned whether material shared for “academic, artistic, scientific or religious purpose” should be exempt if it vilifies a vulnerable group. “The importance of academic, artistic, scientific or religious discussions or debates should not outweigh the fundamental right of freedom from discrimination,” it says.

Communication Minister Michelle Rowland faces significant challenges passing the bill, following the Coalition announcing on Thursday it was committed to opposing the legislation over free speech concerns and prevailing concerns from the crossbench.

While the Greens have signalled they will support the bill, the party’s communications spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, said she wanted the laws applied outside of social media content to mainstream media.

In order to pass the legislation, Labor will need the support of the Greens plus two other senators.

But the Weekend Australian understands that those most likely to vote for such laws – including David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe – all harbour reservations.

Senator Lambie has questioned the ability for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to conduct proper compliance and raised issues with who would be the “arbiter of truth”.

Senator Pocock raised concerns around the power of tech companies to determine the truth and the lack of a human rights framework to underpin laws that could jeopardise rights such as the freedom of speech.

Australian Lawyers Alliance national president Michelle James also shared concerns over how rights would be protected.

“We anticipate that in the absence of a federal human rights act … this type of communication reform will always raise tension between an individual’s right to freedom of expression and the need to combat misinformation and disinformation online,” she said. “This tension could be addressed with the enactment of a human rights act.” In response to the Coalition formally announcing its opposition to the misinformation bill, Ms Rowland declared Peter Dutton was “siding with big tech while the Albanese government wants to hold digital platforms to account”.