Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the committee's report entitled Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Thank you to the opposition for the opportunity to speak to the report. This inquiry was undertaken at the request of the Attorney-General. The law enforcement committee has been examining the effectiveness of the AVM Act in reducing the exploitation of digital platforms by extremists and terrorists. The act was originally introduced, as members would know, as an immediate response to the live streaming of the Christchurch massacre. The committee has heard from law enforcement agencies that, since that event, the risk of harm to the community from AVM remains as prevalent as it did then and that the growth of AVM in online environments continues to challenge law enforcement and industry participants alike.

This threat environment necessitates a robust online safety framework, such as this one, to help prevent extremists and terrorists from using online platforms to advance their objectives and their hideous ideologies and to protect Australians from exposure to abhorrent violent material and extremist propaganda. The legislation provides an effective framework for ensuring that quick action is taken in relation to AVM, both by deterring misconduct by industry and by providing regulators and law enforcement with the appropriate tools in their efforts to respond to cases where extremists or terrorists have sought to exploit online platforms to promote violence.

The committee determined that the AVM legislation continues to play a vital role within Australia's broader online safety framework. The legislation has also encouraged the development of safer systems and helped foster valuable working relationships between the eSafety Commissioner, law enforcement and the tech industry. The committee concluded that the legislation strikes the right balance between granting flexibility to providers, who are making complex judgement calls, and the need to prevent the viral nature of abhorrent and violent material and facilitate the quick action of law enforcement in the subsequent disruption of crime.

The most prevalent feedback the committee received from industry related to their requests for more prescriptive definitions and time frames. I for one was not convinced by this argument. The tech industry's desire for prescription stemmed, in my view, not from a desire to see more AVM removed from their platforms or to protect Australians but from the tech industry's desire to facilitate easier decision-making on their part and to prevent them from having to be the arbiter of content, despite it being on their own platforms. This is another example, in my view, of how the tech industry and social media platforms are putting the safety of Australians second to their own interests, and it exemplifies the exact need for legislative intervention, like the AVM Act, by government.

As a committee, we were not convinced that amending the legislation would address the issues raised by the tech industry. Rather, an overly prescriptive approach to defining AVM in the legislation could have reduced the flexibility and utility of the current framework, which is doing a great job to keep Australians safe from this kind of material. However, the committee did identify that industry, in particular small platforms, would benefit from increased consultation and guidance from the government on the operation of the AVM Act. To this end, the committee has recommended that the government establish a forum for regular and ongoing consultation with the industry. This forum should focus on ways that industry can be more effective in enacting the AVM legislation and ensure industry has the guidance and support it needs to do so.

In recommending this report to the chamber, I would like to thank my fellow committee members, especially the deputy chair, for the quick consideration in undertaking this inquiry. Thank you to all the witnesses who appeared and those who provided submissions. Thank you also to Sean and the secretariat for their hard work in preparing the report draft.