Recently Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that social media platforms needed to start identifying their users. AKA – no more anonymity and no more immunity from prosecution.
Basically, platforms like Twitter and Facebook could be subjected to Australia’s infamously tough defamation laws, unless they comply. Suffice to say, Twitter is already objecting.
The Guardian reported that Kara Hinesley, public policy director for Twitter in Australia and New Zealand has declared that banning anonymous accounts would be ineffective in reducing online abuse. This would, potentially, just silence vulnerable people that wish to remain anonymous.
Our data suggests that ID verification would have been unlikely to prevent the abuse from happening – as of the permanently suspended accounts, 99% of account owners were identifiable.
— UK (@XUK) August 10, 2021
According to ZD Net, Morrison threatened that social media platforms in Australia may no longer be treated like platforms and instead be treated like publishers, making them liable for the things people post to their websites. Unless, of course, they started identifying their users.
The Guardian reported, Morrison said: “Social media has become a coward’s palace where people can just go on there, not say who they are, destroy people’s lives and say the most foul and offensive things to people and do so with impunity.
“Now that’s not a free country where that happens. That’s not right. They should have to identify who they are and you know, the companies, if they’re not going to say who they are, well, they’re not a platform anymore. They’re a publisher.”
So if you’ve seen the comments option turned off on a media platform social media feed – this could be why!
Seemingly, laws will only be getting tighter from the start of 2022. The Australian Government will have the power to force social media companies to give the government personal information of users that are allegedly engaging in bullying online.
The Australian Government is making moves to ensure anonymity online will soon be a thing of the past.
