The BGA Australia Team, led by Managing Director Michael “Mick” McNeill, wrote an update to clients on the country’s latest efforts to regulate Big Tech.

Context

  • Digital platforms are facing intense scrutiny from the Australian government regarding online safety, competition, consumer protection, privacy, media bargaining, misinformation and artificial intelligence (AI), as BGA reported in a March 18 update (“Australia’s Election Season Sees Big Tech Targeted on Multiple Fronts” | S8zM1Kap3W7d). The government is now rolling out detailed reforms in these areas.
  • The government introduced two key pieces of legislation September 12: a bill to hold digital platforms to account for seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation and a bill updating the Privacy Act to bring it up to speed with the digital age.

Significance

  • The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 seeks to give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) new powers to hold digital platforms to account and improve efforts to combat seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation.
  • The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 implements the first tranche of accepted recommendations from the Privacy Act review, which was delivered to the government in 2022.

Implications

  • Both bills will be referred to committees for inquiry, and both have implications for overseas companies. This follows recent announcements on AI guardrails and age-based bans on social media. Meanwhile, the government is preparing to take action on social media scams, payment for news content and competition laws.
  • The government has this month released a proposals paper on Introducing Mandatory Guardrails for AI in High-Risk Settings and will seek to introduce a ban on social media for children (see September 5 update, “Australia Announces AI Guardrails” | G0mq1lz7Hw3C, and September 10 update, “Australia Proposes Age-Based Ban for Social Media” | Rm1L3zO4aP6U).

We will continue to keep you updated on developments in Australia as they occur. If you have any questions or comments, please contact BGA Australia Managing Director Michael “Mick” McNeill at mmcneill@bowergroupasia.com.

Best regards,

BGA Australia Team

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Managing Director

Mick is a highly-experienced government relations expert and trusted advisor on consensus building, conflict resolution and legislative developments. He has played an integral role in helping parties achieve desired outcomes in areas of national security, health policy, foreign policy and reputational crisis management, as well as media relations, communications campaigns, immigration and human rights. Mick has two decades’ experience working with government as a media analyst, political adviser and NGO advocacy manager. After a stint serving as an adviser to an Australian senator, Mick took on the role of the locally engaged senior political specialist at the U.S. Embassy in ... Read More