The response of politicians to the growing repugnance to social media’s malign influence following the Sydney stabbings is big on rhetoric, but a large gap yawns between their words and actions.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has condemned the spread of misinformation about the attacks through social media. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Federal and state leaders have blustered and threatened tough legislation to rein in the responsibility-free zone that has developed around the platforms since the digital technology came under increased scrutiny following its role in fanning the flames of hatred after the Bondi Junction and Wakeley church attacks.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has complied with government demands and taken down distressing footage, according to eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant. But X, formerly Twitter, already widely criticised for its laissez-faire approach to harmful material since it was acquired and renamed by the unpredictable billionaire Elon Musk, continues to defy decency and is still running the knifing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a livestreamed church service.
Attention has turned to the role of Australian influencers including the anti-Western, Russia-aligned X users Simeon Boikov, known as the “Aussie Cossack”, and Maram Susli, who uses the name Syrian Girl online. Both falsely suggested to large followings that the Bondi attacker was a local Jewish man, while Boikov cited rumours, since proved false, suggesting a mob cut fingers off the 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed priests at Wakeley’s Assyrian Orthodox Church, Christ The Good Shepherd Church.
The criticism of social media comes as the Albanese government ponders using untested laws to force Meta into striking new voluntary agreements handing about $70 million to media companies – including with Nine Entertainment, owner of this masthead – for sharing news links in posts. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said falsehoods and graphic imagery shared about the Sydney stabbings proved the need for real news on social media platforms. “The spreading of misinformation about these events through social media turns what has been a horrific week into something diabolical. Without journalism, god help us,” he said. We can but agree.
Australia has a voluntary code on misinformation, designed to prevent the spread of harmful posts, to which Meta, TikTok, Apple, Google and Microsoft are signatories. Twitter was previously a signatory but walked away following Musk’s acquisition.
The Albanese government’s misinformation laws were put on ice last year, but following the Sydney attacks, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland pledged a revamped bill allowing fines for platforms hosting misinformation and disinformation would be tabled later this year, laying down the gauntlet to platforms she said caused real-world harm when “dangerous falsehoods spread at scale and speed”. Surprisingly, as the controversy mounted, Inman Grant remained low-profile towards the end of this dramatic week, but we are told her office is taking legal advice on how to deal with recalcitrant platforms.
Government beginning to look impotent in its failure to rein in X
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19.04.2024
The response of politicians to the growing repugnance to social media’s malign influence following the Sydney stabbings is big on rhetoric, but a large gap yawns between their words and actions.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has condemned the spread of misinformation about the attacks through social media. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Federal and state leaders have blustered and threatened tough legislation to rein in the responsibility-free zone that has developed around the platforms since the digital technology came under increased scrutiny following its role in fanning the flames of hatred after the Bondi Junction and Wakeley church attacks.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has complied with government demands and taken down distressing footage, according to eSafety........
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