Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has announced the government has formally abandoned its controversial misinformation bill.
The proposed legislation was rejected by the Coalition, Greens and several crossbenchers, meaning that it would not be possible to pass through the Senate.
Rowland confirmed today the proposal would be scrapped as “there is no pathway” to legislate the bill.
“The government invites all Parliamentarians to work with us on other proposals to strengthen democratic institutions and keep Australians safe online, while safeguarding values like freedom of expression,” Rowland said in a statement.
Under the proposal, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) would have been granted power to impose hefty fines on tech companies that failed to monitor misinformation and disinformation across their networks.
Maximum penalties for systemic breaches would have amounted to two per cent of global turnover, or five per cent of a company’s global turnover, depending on the type of infringement.
As a result, a company like Meta, could have faced eye-watering fines of more than $8 billion.
When introducing the law, Rowland said there must be a balance between protection from fake news and freedom of speech.
However, the government did not outline whether the bill would cover parody or satire within news sites as well as academic or religious content, with critics concerned about potential censorship.
