Social media bosses to face jail in Australia over violent posts

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published April 04, 2019

SYDNEY - Social media executives risk jail for failing to take down violent extremist content quickly, under controversial laws passed in Australia Thursday - a "world first" in the wake of the Christchurch mosques massacre.

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of the laws, which hold firms like Facebook and YouTube - and their executives - responsible for removing "abhorrent material" quickly.

The companies face fines approaching billions of dollars - or 10 percent of global annual turnover - for failing to enact the "expeditious removal" of footage of terrorism, murder and other serious crimes, while executives could face up to three years in jail.

Technology companies, policy experts and lawyers pilloried the legislation - which was jammed through parliament in two days and faces an uncertain future beyond elections expected in May.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is facing a difficult reelection battle, said: "Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists."

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the legislation was "most likely a world first."

The opposition Labor party expressed serious misgivings but voted in favor of the legislation - in a step that echoed the bipartisan passage of a similarly controversial law forcing technology firms to weaken encryption.

With those two reforms, Australia has put itself at the forefront of global efforts to regulate social media giants more closely. But both measures have been roundly condemned by industry and experts as "knee-jerk" and ill-conceived.

It will be up to a jury to decide whether the platforms acted with good speed to take down offending content, raising questions about how the law will be implemented.

"No one wants abhorrent content on their websites, and DIGI members work to take this down as quickly as possible," said Sunita Bose, Managing Director of the Digital Industry Group, which represents Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and others.

"But with the vast volumes of content uploaded to the internet every second, this is a highly complex problem that requires discussion with the technology industry, legal experts, the media and civil society to get the solution right - that didn´t happen this week."

She also warned that the law would encourage companies to "proactively surveil" users and slammed parliament´s "pass it now, change it later" approach.

"This is not how legislation should be made in a democracy like Australia."

Technology companies now face the task of developing failsafe moderation tools capable of quickly detecting offensive material in hundreds of billions of media uploads to their platforms.

In the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch shootings, Facebook alone said it had taken down 1.5 million videos of the attack.

Current tools like Microsoft´s Content Moderator API "cannot automatically classify an image, let alone a video," according to Monash University´s Robert Merkel. "Nor can it automatically identify videos similar to another video."

The legislation could be a particular problem for smaller platforms used by the far-right, like 4Chan and 8Chan.

The CEO of Australian technology firm Atlassian, Scott Farquhar, warned of a broader economic impact: "The legislation is flawed and will unnecessarily cost jobs and damage our tech industry," he said on Twitter.

News organizations also worry they could face legal action.

The Law Council of Australia warned the legislation could have "serious unintended consequences," like muzzling whistleblowers and "could also lead to censorship of the media, which would be unacceptable."

The Institute of Public Affairs described the legislation as a "blatant attack on the freedom of the media."

"Throwing media executives in jail will increase costs to taxpayers without improving community safety or addressing concerns about violent content being shared on social media platforms," said researcher Andrew Bushnell.

"Companies and executives may respond to the threat of criminal penalties by erring on the side of censorship."

The laws are expected to be followed by steps toward treating social media giants more like publishers, which would make them legally responsible for any content on their platforms. - AFP

Coordinated or coincidence? Identical tweets by Pakistani journalists raise eyebrows

 April 23, 2025:  Pakistani journalists respond in unison to a post hinting at a possible Indian military strike. Citing the 2019 ‘Swift Retort,’ they warn of a stronger response if provoked again.

Sher Afzal Marwat launches personal attacks on journalists after PTI expulsion

 April 21, 2025:  After being expelled from PTI, MNA Sher Afzal Marwat launches personal attacks on journalists and Aleema Khan, sparking outrage on social media over his offensive remarks.

Journalist Sanaullah Khan alleges FIA blocking accounts of YouTubers and families

 April 21, 2025:  Journalist Sanaullah Khan reveals that the FIA has launched a financial crackdown on YouTubers by freezing the bank accounts of journalists and their family members—raising serious concerns over freedom of expression and legal process.

A launch in style: Dr. Nauman Niaz unveils 'In A Different Realm'

 April 20, 2025:  Dr. Nauman Niaz launched his fifteenth book, In A Different Realm: Story of Quadruple and Triple Centuries 1876–2025, at an elegant Islamabad event, reflecting on cricket’s rarest feats and his journey as a scholar of the game.

Sindhi journalist AD Shar brutally murdered, PFUJ declares three-day mourning

 April 11, 2025:  Sindhi journalist AD Shar was brutally murdered in Khairpur, Sindh. His body was found dumped on Handiyari Link Road. PFUJ has declared a three-day mourning period and demanded justice.

AJK government registers case against newspaper and staff

 April 10, 2025:  The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a case against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir and its staff for alleged fake news, drawing condemnation from PFUJ and IFJ, who demand immediate withdrawal of the FIR and an end to media repression in Pakistan.

Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges FIA threats, possible arrest over reporting

 April 08, 2025:  Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges that Pakistan's state agencies, including the FIA, have blocked her CNIC, passport, and bank account while threatening her. She calls it a direct attack on journalism.

Noorani’s missing brothers: Court orders IG to produce individuals

 April 07, 2025:  The Islamabad High Court has directed IG Islamabad to produce journalist Ahmad Noorani’s missing brothers, as the Ministry of Defence denies custody. SIM activity was traced in Bahawalpur, and investigations into their suspected abduction continue.