Hate speech doesn’t belong in misinformation laws: TikTok

Some social media companies, most notably X (formerly Twitter), have cut down on news or content moderation as they try to avoid the politically vexed role of arbitrating on the truth.

The Albanese government’s draft laws have ignited criticism from civil liberties groups, lawyers’ organisations and the opposition. The Coalition supported a similar approach in government but is now concerned about the risks to free speech.

Social media firms already operate under a voluntary code on misinformation and mandatory codes on illegal material such as child abuse in Australia.

TikTok’s submission on the proposed new laws, obtained by The Australian Financial Review, argues that two core definitions should be scaled back.

It wants the bill to deal with disinformation only in situations where it is spread in large volumes such as spam campaigns. It also questions whether “harm” in the legislation should include things normally defined as hate speech, as opposed to focusing only on falsehoods, to preserve the law’s objective. It separately supports efforts to tackle hate speech.

ASPI analysts Fergus Ryan and Albert Zhang largely praise the government’s plan to tackle the growing threat of misinformation but suggest 18 changes.

These include giving ACMA the power to effectively ban social media platforms from operating in Australia if they are a threat to the national interest, requiring platforms to publish take-down requests and forcing sites to label posts from foreign state propaganda outlets.

A spokesman for Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the consultations were designed to ensure that the bill struck the right balance between protecting Australians online and freedom of expression.