Morrison government announces new legislation to tackle trolling

New laws pave way for ‘unmasking’ anonymous users who post defamatory comments, while shifting burden of responsibility to Big Tech.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there should be consistency between laws in the real and online worlds, saying Facebook and Twitter needed to take responsibility for the environments they had created. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Scott Morrison has announced powerful new legislation to address online trolling, paving the way for social media users to “unmask” anonymous accounts who disseminate defamatory slurs, while shifting the burden of responsibility for toxic, third party comments to Big Tech.

The measures augment existing mechanisms announced by the Morrison government aimed at regulating the social media giants. Liability for online comments made by third parties will shift from media outlets and small businesses to social media services, deeming them to be the “publisher”.

Moreover, the legislation will force Big Tech to implement a complaint process for people who believe they have been defamed. If the companies do not comply, a mechanism will be introduced enabling the Federal Court to compel social media companies to “unmask” accounts.

In a press conference, the Prime Minister said there should be consistency between laws in the real and online worlds, saying Facebook and Twitter needed to take responsibility for the environments they had created.

“The online world should not be a wild west where bots and bigots and trolls and others are anonymously going around and can harm people and hurt people, harass them and bully them and sledge them. That is not Australia,” Mr Morrison told reporters on Sunday morning.

“That is not what can happen in the real world, and there is no case for it to be able to be happening in the digital world.”

“Free speech is not being allowed to cowardly hide in your basement and sledge … and harass people anonymously and seek to destroy their live. That is cowardice — and there is no place for that in this country.”

The significant new measures will clear up confusion about who is liable for comments made by people who comment on news stories on social media. A High Court ruling made during the Dylan Voller case had specified the “publisher” was held responsible for any defamatory comments, creating a legal minefield for news outlets.

However, the Morrison government’s legislation would ensure social media companies were held accountable for harmful comments made on their platform, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said.

“In that the legislation, deem that the social media page user – in other words, the small business in Canberra, the journalists represented here today, Mom and dad‘s around Australia – you will be deemed not to be the publisher,” she said.

“We need to ensure that Australians have certainty in relation to who is the publisher, bought these third-party comments. Social media services, they need to step up and they need to understand that they have a responsibility in this regard.”

Moreover, the legislation would require social media companies to implement a complaints procedure, compelling them to provide users with the details — such as email address or phone number — of online trolls who had spread defamatory comments.

If social media companies were able to do this, the Morrison government would provide them with a defence from being the publisher. If not, a mechanism would be provided to social media users, providing them with a pathway to take action in the Federal Court.

“This is all about ensuring that what happens in the physical world, we know what the consequences for actions are, are also ensuring they are happening in the online world,” Senator Cash said.