The Albanese government has dumped its controversial mis- and disinformation bill, conceding there is “no pathway” to getting the proposal passed through the Senate.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, insisted misinformation and disinformation remained a grave concern for democracy, national security and online safety, but said the government would not proceed with the proposal. It is the second time Labor has pulled the bill, after an initial version also failed to gain support and raised concerns about freedom of speech online.
“Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,” Rowland said on Sunday.
In recent days the Greens had called for the bill to be withdrawn, while other key crossbenchers David Pocock, Lidia Thorpe and Fatima Payman had raised major concerns. The Coalition also opposed the bill.
In another key part of Rowland’s portfolio, Guardian Australia understands the government will also not unveil its long-awaited gambling ad reforms in this coming final sitting week of parliament for 2024. It has now been 18 months since the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended a total ban of online wagering ads, but the government has still not revealed its plans to address the issue. Rowland has previously pledged a response by the end of the parliamentary term.
The mis- and disinformation bill would have put legal obligations on social media platforms to address false, misleading or deceptive content, or content reasonably likely to cause serious harm, as well as equip the Australian Communications and Media Authority to regulate such content. However it was strongly opposed by a wide range of bodies including human rights organisations, church groups and libertarian groups, as well as many of the non-government members of parliament.
A first version of the legislation was redrafted in a bid to win wider support, but the second attempt also failed to garner parliamentary backing or assuage wider concerns from critics. The Coalition has long pledged to oppose the bill, while all other members of the Senate crossbench had said in recent days they would either vote it down or were not yet sufficiently convinced to vote for it.
The Australian Human Rights Commission said in October that “although there have been improvements to the bill, freedom of expression is not sufficiently protected”.
Ahead of parliament’s final sitting week of 2024, Rowland confirmed “the government will not proceed with the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024.”
She stood by the government’s reasoning for bringing the bill on, and attacked the Coalition for not supporting the move.
“Seriously harmful mis and disinformation poses a threat to safety, the integrity of elections, democracy and national security, and 80% of Australians want action,” Rowland said.
“The Coalition committed to legislating safeguards when in Government, but chose to place partisanship above any attempt to navigate the public interest.”
The Coalition communications spokesperson, David Coleman, called the news “both a humiliating backdown by Labor and a win for the free speech for all Australians”.
“This is an appalling bill which should never have been put forward. It betrayed our democracy, and had no place in our nation,” he said.
“This bill is being dumped today because it has been universally panned by just about everyone, except Labor MPs and senators.”
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the bill “half-baked” and “poorly explained”. On the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, she said the bill needed to have stronger powers to force platforms to comply and address misinformation, and welcomed its withdrawal.
Rowland said the Albanese government would focus on other related issues in online safety, with reforms planned in areas around deepfakes, truth in political advertising, and regulation of artificial intelligence.
“It is incumbent on democracies to grapple with these challenges in a way that puts the interests of citizens first,” she said.
On gambling ads, it was unclear when the government proposal would be unveiled, or what form it would take. Rowland said last month the government was “committed to responding in full to Peta Murphy’s inquiry, and to have a comprehensive response in this term”.