The opposition has highlighted a letter to the Prime Minister which they say threatens to give the government the power to undermine freedom of expression online.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland's letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought his approval for “minor refinements” to the government's anti-misinformation and disinformation law.
The bill was intended to be submitted to parliament last year, but the bill received so much scathing criticism that the Albanian government decided to rework the proposed laws for next year.
Ms Rowland's letter, sent in June but only made public through a Freedom of Information request, says that under the new laws the Communications Minister can 'request' and 'give general direction' to 'misinformation' and 'disinformation' to investigate.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland (pictured) wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June to seek his approval for the proposed Disinformation Bill
She would then be given the authority to review the “scope and timeframe” of investigations conducted by the newly mandated social media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
These directions may be issued in response to issues raised through public complaints or media reports about online misinformation and disinformation.
“This will provide greater transparency and strengthen the powers to hold platforms to account,” the letter said.
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman claimed the letter made “a deeply troubling piece of legislation worse”.
“A politician will be able to order effective investigations into disinformation about whatever he wants,” he told the media.
“Nothing would stop a minister from using this power to investigate views he doesn't like or things on digital platforms he thinks shouldn't be there.
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman claims the letter shows the new laws would give a minister extraordinary powers to order investigations into things said online
'It is an incredibly broad power. There are actually no restrictions on how these are exercised.
“It could effectively overwhelm anyone who holds views that disagree with the government.”
Mr Coleman claimed that if Mr Albanese approved the letter, he said that 'he believes it is appropriate that a minister can personally order an investigation into misinformation'.
As an example of the potential dangers posed by the minister's powers, Mr Coleman pointed to the polarizing debate surrounding the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum held in October.
“There was a lot of discussion and accusations of misinformation and so on,” he said.
“But when people often talked about alleged disinformation, it was really just things they disagreed with,” Coleman said.
“It's one thing to have the bureaucrats investigate disinformation, but to have an elected politician order an investigation into disinformation, it's just unbelievable.”
A spokesperson for the minister said giving the minister the power to direct AMCA to investigate broadcast media and whether they were meeting their licensing obligations was part of long-standing practice in Australia.
The letter was sent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (photo)
Mr Copeland argues that the proposed disinformation law could have enabled the censorship of the Voice No campaign
They said applying the same powers to social media platforms would “hold them to account by ensuring they have appropriate systems and processes in place to tackle seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation”.
“The regulator would have no power to order the removal of individual pieces of content,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Coleman asked why the minister's role had not previously been made explicit in the bill and associated documents.
“How can you give a minister this kind of personal power but not mention it in interviews or statements?” He said.
“It has not been mentioned by the minister and I think it raises very serious questions.”
Under the previous bill ACMA will be given the power to fine 'digital platform service providers' millions of dollars for spreading what they deem to be 'false' information or 'disinformation' that is also deemed 'harmful'.
Disinformation is defined in the bill as 'false, misleading or deceptive' content that is likely to cause serious harm, while disinformation is defined as disinformation spread with deceptive intent.
The new laws would apply “to a wide range” of such platforms, including search engines, news aggregators, social media and podcast services.
Government agencies, authorized election materials or professional news content will be exempt from the proposed measures.
Those who breach ACMA's 'code of conduct' could face fines of up to $2.75 million or two percent of global turnover.
If an offender breaches an 'industry standard', also set by the watchdog, the watchdog can impose a fine of up to $6.8 million or five percent of global turnover.
The government has said the aim is to ensure digital platform providers have robust systems and measures in place to tackle misinformation and disinformation.
With the coalition opposing it, the bill will need the support of the Greens and two senators to pass the federal upper house.