Article by Eric Worrell
As Australia heads into the next round of state and federal elections, Australia's activist federal government is pushing for laws to quell media criticism of its key policy positions.
'Attack on our freedoms': Government's revised online disinformation bill slammed as 'chilling attack' on free speech
Labour's new online disinformation bill has been slammed as a “chilling attack” on free speech, with critics claiming the government's definition of “serious harm” could cover “any dissent”.
By Patrick Hannaford Digital Reporter
4 min read
September 12, 2024 – 5:00 pm…
Communications Minister Michel Rowland introduced the legislation to parliament on Thursday, claiming misinformation and disinformation posed a “serious threat” to Australia's “security and well-being” and “our democracy, society and economy”.
The Albanian government was forced to abandon an earlier draft law after receiving widespread condemnation from media organizations and technology companies to civil liberties groups and even the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Minister Rowland said the government had listened to feedback and revised the new legislation to “carefully balance the public interest in combating seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation with the freedom of expression that is fundamental to our democracy”.
But critics have begun lining up to attack the bill, with the Institute of Public Affairs describing it as “the greatest attack on free speech in Australia's peacetime history”.
“The disinformation legislation introduced in federal parliament today is a chilling attack on every Australian's right to free speech. The new bill expands the provisions for censoring speech that even the government's fatally flawed first draft did not include. within,” said John Storey, IPA legal and policy director.
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Learn more: https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/attack-on-our-freedoms-governments-revised-online-misinformation-bill-slammed-as-chilling-assault-on- free -Speeches/News Stories/03f202bf41f4255fd0f7c4b4c05682fe
The Institute for Public Affairs had this to say about the new law.
Revised misinformation law intensifies attack on free speech
Screenwriter: John Story
September 12, 2024“The disinformation legislation introduced in federal parliament today is a chilling attack on every Australian's right to free speech. The new bill expands the provisions for censoring speech that even the government's fatally flawed first draft did not include. within,” said John Storey, director of law and policy at the Institute for Public Affairs.
revised Communications Legislation Amendment (Countering Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be given sweeping powers to fine social media companies if they are found to have failed to properly review “misinformation” and “disinformation”. The new bill contains three basic flaws:
- The revised definition of “error message” means “Verifiable “False, misleading, or deceptive” would create legal power for politically biased fact-checkers to determine truth and falsehood. (Articles 13(1) and 13(2)).
- it creates a The unelected and unaccountable Star bureaucracy, which has the power Launch inquiries and hearings to ensure censorship guidelines for mainstream Australians are adhered to (Schedule 2, Article 2).
- The new definition of “serious harm” is broader than the first bill and may cover any differences of opinion (Article 14).
“The government's proposed 'misinformation' and 'disinformation' laws are the largest attack on free speech in Australia's peacetime history and have no place in a liberal democracy like Australia,” Storey said.
“Big Tech will become the censorship and enforcement arm of the federal government to block debate and speech with which it disagrees.”
“Even the truth is not a defense under these laws. If a citizen were to spread factually true information but ACMA or a fact-checker labeled it ‘misleading’ or ‘deceptive’ due to a ‘lack of context’, then that The information will fall within the scope of those laws,” Mr Storey said.
The revised legislation fails to take into account the deep concerns of many mainstream Australians who may now be prosecuted by an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy for simply expressing their genuine views online.
“The federal government is not listening to the concerns of mainstream Australians about free speech. Instead, they are actually catering to its political base by expanding ACMA's censorship powers, such as quietly changing the definition of 'harm' to include 'defamation',” Storey said Mr.
Previous research by the Institute for Public Affairs found systemic bias among fact-checking organizations and targeted the “No” campaign in the Voice of Parliament referendum. research findings
- So-called “fact checkers” published 187 fact-checking articles related to The Voice, of which 170 (or 91%) targeted the claims of those supporting the “no” case.
- Almost all examples supporting the “no” case are evaluated as false. 99% of the assessment claims supporting the “no” case were deemed “false”, while only 59% of the relatively few assessment claims supporting the “yes” case were deemed “false”.
To download IPA's previous research reports, please click here.
Learn more: https://ipa.org.au/publications-ipa/media-releases/revised-misinformation-laws-amp-up-assault-on-free-speech
The IPA article (above) shows that both individuals and organizations can be targeted.
The following submissions from the Australian School of Technology, Science and Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) make it very clear: Climate skepticism is on the front line of new disinformation laws. If the legislation is passed, Australia's leading science bodies will urge anyone who publicly disagrees with their alarmist stance on climate change and the Great Barrier Reef to use the new laws to silence them, according to the submission. They even mention President Trump (top of page 4).
I'm not sure how Anthony would handle a subpoena from the Australian government to stop publishing climate “disinformation” and provide full contact details for all authors, but I guess it would be an interesting WUWT article.
Our favorite reef rebel, Peter Ridd, has started a series of videos about Australia's awakening science establishment and other interesting topics. It's well worth watching and, in my opinion, proves why Australia's science Research institutions are not suited to be the gatekeepers of scientific truth. This is one of Peter's videos that alerted me to the extremist rhetoric above.
Elon Musk, who has been on the front lines fighting and winning against the Australian government, had only one word for the latest move to suppress free speech.
As WUWT has shown before, what's happening in Australia is part of a bigger picture. Around the world, radical left-wing politicians appear to be moving simultaneously to suppress opposition to their policies.
In South America and Europe, freedoms are being eroded by the proliferation of punitive laws aimed at silencing critics of left-wing policies.
Musk’s X banned in Brazil due to disinformation dispute
Will Elon Musk really be arrested and X canceled?
The United States is not immune to aggressive attempts by governments around the world to censor “disinformation.”
The United States has strong protections against federal coercion of public speech, but that has not stopped the European Union from allegedly conducting indirect coercion censorship of American people — possibly at the behest of the Biden administration.
In at least one case, the federal government has been accused of directly censoring Americans—a blatant violation of the First Amendment, in my opinion.
Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook to 'censor' some COVID-19 content during pandemic
Politics August 27, 2024 11:26 EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials have pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed to do so if faced with it again class demands, the social media giant will fight back.
watch: Meta's Nick Clegg on the challenges of AI content and misinformation
In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg claimed that officials, including White House officials, had “constantly pressured Facebook” for months to remove “certain COVID-19 content, Includes humor and content.” Satire. “
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Learn more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/zuckerberg-says-the-white-house-Pressured-facebook-to-censor-some-covid-19-content-during-the-pandemic
The Constitution of the United States is an inspiration to the world, an effort by some very smart people to defend freedoms that were bought with the blood of future generations. Yet your federal government allegedly gets away with blatant violations of the First Amendment. The politicians or staff members who allegedly committed these acts did not face any serious legal consequences for their actions. To date, those responsible for these alleged constitutional violations have enjoyed impunity.
Unless you elect politicians who uphold and protect the laws and constitution of the United States, what is happening in Australia now could easily happen to the United Statesregardless of the protections provided by the U.S. Constitution. Unless offenders face real legal consequences for violating the Constitution, those who violate the Constitution will feel safe continuing to violate the Constitution when it is convenient. The Constitution is a document—and it requires the support of politicians, lawyers, the judiciary, and the people who believe in and work to uphold the safeguards of the United States Constitution to make it work.
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