Australia's Digital Duty of Care: Tackling Harmful Online Content

Australia's federal government has released recommendations for large social media companies to proactively remove harmful content, face fines, and undergo risk assessments. The recommendations include a new 'digital duty of care' on tech companies to address harms and improve online safety. However, concerns about misinformation remain.

The Australian government has unveiled recommendations aimed at compelling large social media platforms to remove harmful content proactively. The report, led by Delia Rickard, suggests regular risk assessments for tech companies and significant fines for non-compliance.

The proposed digital duty of care would require social media giants to tackle issues like child exploitation and discriminatory content aggressively. Australians would benefit from streamlined complaint pathways and alignment with UK and EU standards.

Despite these measures, the report overlooks misinformation and disinformation concerns, an omission pointed out by experts. With elections upcoming, action on these recommendations seems distant, highlighting the need for continued educational support to keep digital spaces safe.