Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications. How is the Albanese Labor government continuing its work to keep Australians safe online?

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, because protecting children and other vulnerable Australians from online harms is a key focus of the Albanese government. Online safety is a collective responsibility between industry, regulators, government and civil society. I acknowledge the impacted family members who have come to Canberra this week for their brave advocacy.

The landscape is changing rapidly. That's why we're using all levers to address new and emerging harms. It's the reason why I announced, last November, that I would bring forward the review of the Online Safety Act by a year, because we must ensure our regulatory settings are fit for purpose. When the Online Safety Act commenced in early 2022, generative AI was barely a topic of discussion for most Australians. The review is well under way, and I encourage all Australians to have their say through the consultation on important issues including: penalties and enforcement; the role and use of recommender systems; and harmful content like body-image harms.

The government is taking a methodical and joined-up approach across portfolios and ministers in this work. The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society is examining the role of platform algorithms and the impact of corporate decision-making on the content that Australians see—and the impact on mental health. For the first time, the dating app industry is engaging with government to develop new rules to support at-risk users and improve their safety practices. We allocated $6½ million in the budget for an age-assurance trial to test the efficacy of a range of technologies that could be used to protect children from harmful content, including use cases for restricting access to age-inappropriate content such as pornography, age-restricted content and social media.

Importantly, we're supporting the eSafety Commissioner to implement the Online Safety Act, including by quadrupling its ongoing base funding. Last week's update to the Basic Online Safety Expectations is critical to providing the eSafety Commissioner with a clear and up-to-date remit.

I acknowledge the dedication of the eSafety Commissioner and her agency and their tireless work to keep Australians safe online. These are public servants doing vital work that is needed to uphold Australian law in the interests of all citizens. To that end, the government acknowledges the decision of eSafety, as an independent regulator, to both bring and discontinue legal proceedings in the Federal Court against X Corp. The government backs our regulators and we back the eSafety Commissioner, particularly in light of the reprehensible threats to her physical safety and to her family in the course of doing her job.

Finally, I understand that parents may feel overwhelmed when it comes to keeping their children safe online. There's a wealth of resources freely available at esafety.gov.au, and I encourage all members to avail themselves of these resources and to share them widely.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—Very quickly, I want to thank the minister for her update. There's no more important task than making sure we keep children safe in our community, and that is in the real world as much as it is online. Many of these companies operate in a lawless environment and have no regard even for the rule of law in a country like ours. Julie Inman Grant is one of the finest public servants in the employment of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the treatment that she has been subject to—the personal abuse and attacks and the threats and intimidation—should be absolutely condemned. I met with Ms Inman Grant, last week and I hope the Australian Federal Police, as I'm sure they will, continue to pursue those people that have made these outrageous attacks on her.