Dear Secretary,
Institute of Public Affairs’ Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) welcomes the opportunity to share research and analysis with the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society (“the Committee”). This submission will address the following terms of reference:
- •the important role of Australian journalism, news and public interest media in countering mis and disinformation on digital platforms;
- other issues in relation to harmful or illegal content disseminated over social media, including scams, age-restricted content, child sexual abuse and violent extremist material.
IPA research finds:
- The role of journalism and the news media in the government’s proposed misinformation and disinformation laws is incoherent and creates an unfair double standard which permits professional news organisations to deliberately spread false and misleading information.
- The regulation of ‘harmful’ content on social media platforms inevitably has a chilling effect on the online speech of Australians.
- The regulation of social media platforms should be narrowly prescribed and emphasise objective standards, free speech, and the protection of children.
