The Australian government has officially abandoned its proposed legislation aimed at forcing social media platforms to tackle misinformation and disinformation. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced today (Nov. 24) that the plan would not proceed due to insufficient support in the Senate.
The proposed laws would have granted the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) the authority to impose fines on social media companies that failed to effectively monitor and regulate false or misleading content on their platforms. However, the opposition Coalition, the Greens, and several independent senators rejected the legislation, leaving the ruling Labor Party unable to secure enough votes to pass the bill.
Rowland's announcement comes just before the final parliamentary sitting week of 2024. Instead, the government is shifting its focus to advancing a groundbreaking bill that would ban children under 16 from using social media, with a vote on the measure expected in parliament by midweek.
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