Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise this evening to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2020. This is a most interesting piece of legislation which reflects the change in the media environment that we are facing. Fundamentally, the argument that some of these large social media companies should pay other media organisations for content has to be based on standard intellectual property law and it simply has to be based on a copyright provision. I know that many times when things have been posted, whether it's a cartoon or a picture or a news article, I've thought that there is, in some way, an infringement of that creator's copyright by that being posted upon one of these digital platforms. The principle that we have for this legislation is sound. It is based upon the recognition that an original creator of content should be compensated for their work and have their work, that would otherwise be protected by copyright legislation, protected.

However, having said that, one of the great issues that we have goes to freedom of speech when it comes to these large social media companies, and about what they should allow on their platform and where they should draw the line about what should be blocked. This is where I have some significant concerns—

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