Australian government vows to unmask online trolls

Australia's authorities said Sunday it volition present authorities to unmask online trolls, and clasp societal media giants similar Facebook and Twitter liable for identifying them.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose blimpish conjugation authorities faces an predetermination successful the archetypal fractional of 2022, said the instrumentality would support Australians from online maltreatment and harassment.

"The online world should not beryllium a chaotic westbound wherever bots and bigots and trolls and others tin conscionable anonymously spell astir and harm radical and wounded people, harass them and bully them and sledge them," Morrison told reporters.

"That is not what tin hap successful the real world, and determination is nary lawsuit for it to beryllium capable to beryllium happening successful the digital world."

Attorney General Michaelia Cash said the legislation, reportedly to beryllium introduced to parliament by aboriginal 2022, was needed to clarify that the social media platforms, and not the users, were liable for defamatory comments by different people.

Confusion had been sown by a High Court ruling successful September that recovered Australian media, arsenic users managing their ain pages connected a societal network, could beryllium held liable for defamatory third-party comments posted connected their pages, Cash said.

Under the planned Australian legislation, the societal media companies themselves would beryllium liable for specified defamatory content, not the users, she said.

It would besides purpose to halt radical making defamatory comments without being identified, she said.

"You should not beryllium capable to usage the cloak of online anonymity to dispersed your vile, defamatory comments," the lawyer wide said.

The authorities would request that societal media platforms person a nominated entity based successful Australia, she said.

The platforms could support themselves from being sued arsenic the steadfast of defamatory remark lone if they complied with the caller legislation's demands to person a complaints strategy successful spot that could supply the details of the idiosyncratic making the comment, if necessary, Cash said.

People would besides beryllium capable to use to the High Court for an "information disclosure order" demanding a societal media work supply details "to unmask the troll", the attorney general said.

In immoderate cases, she said, the "troll" whitethorn beryllium asked to instrumentality down the comment, which could extremity the substance if the different broadside is satisfied.

Australia's absorption person Anthony Albanese said helium would enactment a safer online situation for everyone.

But helium said the authorities had failed to suggest enactment to halt the dispersed of misinformation connected societal media and accused immoderate of the government's ain members of spreading misinformation astir Covid and vaccinations.

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© 2021 AFP