Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General, Senator Cash. Can the Attorney-General please outline to the Senate how the Liberal-National government is unmasking and tackling online trolls to protect everyday Australians from harassment and abuse online?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Henderson for the question and acknowledge her keen interest in this particular area. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we know that social media has, for far too long, allowed trolls, bots and bigots to weaponise anonymity to strike out at ordinary Australians. That is just unacceptable behaviour. That is why the Morrison-Joyce government will introduce new laws which are capable of forcing global social media giants to unmask anonymous online trolls and, at the same time, better protect Australians when they are online. This is a world-first legislation, and we will address these pressing issues of online abuse and defamation liability.

The legislation, which will go to exposure draft this week, will do the following. In the first instance, it will provide certainty, flowing from the High Court's decision in Fairfax Media v Voller, and we will qualify who is a publisher of defamatory comments on social media. That will be the social media company themselves. We will also protect Australian social media users from potential liability for comments made by online trolls. We will support Australians who are the subject of defamatory comments on social media to unmask anonymous online trolls, and we will assist Australians to institute defamation proceedings in state and territory courts. We will deem the social media providers to be a publisher of defamatory comments, on their platform, in circumstances where the online troll cannot be identified.

This is all about protecting ordinary Australians from liability for comments made by third-party users on social media. It is also about ensuring that anyone who operates in the online space is operating in a safe space.

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, a supplementary question?

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why is it important for the government to take strong action against online trolls and ensure that social media companies are helping to ensure online safety?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that social media use is increasing, and it's increasing in Australia. But what that increase in the utilisation of social media has done is to bring greater exposure to online harms, and that includes exposure to defamation. We know that social media can amplify the harmful defamatory impact of material posted by online trolls. This includes the use of algorithms that can push harmful material to users far more quickly than was possible through traditional media. At this point in time, victims have limited to no recourse against the anonymous originators of defamatory comments made on social media.

We will provide new pathways for victims to quickly and easily identify originators of defamatory material posted on social media. Again, this is world leading in terms of what Australia is doing to ensure that, when you are online, you're in a safe environment.

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, a second supplementary question?

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With more Australians than ever using and benefiting from social media today, can you please outline what the government is doing about online harms more broadly?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Morrison-Joyce government has been leading the way in protecting Australians online. When eSafety was established in 2015, it was the first agency in the world to be dedicated to protecting citizens from online dangers such as cyberbullying targeted at children. Through the work of Minister Fletcher, with the Online Safety Act, and the eSafety Commissioner, we are bringing the rules of the real world to the online world. This, of course, includes the introduction of a complaints based removal notice scheme for cyberabuse for adults, based on the model that is in place for children.

Our government has also recently released our online privacy code, working to protect our personal data—in particular, our children's data—and to ensure that it is used appropriately. The government also acted quickly to protect Australians from the live streaming of terrorist content, through the abhorrent violent material legislation.