The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a position paper outlining its expectations for a voluntary code of practice on fake news and real news quality to be developed by digital platforms.
Chair of ACMA, Nerida O’Loughlin said the paper, Misinformation and news quality on digital platforms in Australia – A position paper to guide code development, set out a proposed model and key objectives for the voluntary code.
“According to the University of Canberra’s Digital News Report: Australia 2020, 48 per cent of Australians rely on online news or social media as their main source of news, but 64 per cent of Australians are concerned about what is real or fake on the internet,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“That should rightly be of immense community concern,” she said.
“False and misleading news and information online has the potential to cause serious harm to individuals, communities and society.”
She said that when developing the new code, digital platforms would have to balance the need to limit the spread and impact of harmful material on the internet while protecting Australians’ rights to freedom of speech.
“Digital platforms should not be the arbiters of truth for online information,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“But they do have a responsibility to tackle misinformation disseminated on their platforms and to assist people to make sound decisions about the credibility of news and information.”
She said it was time for digital platforms to commit to permanent actions that were systematic, transparent, certain and accountable for their users in addressing potentially harmful material.
Ms O’Loughlin said the Australian Government had asked ACMA to oversee the platforms’ code development process and report to Government by June 2021.
ACMA’s 49-page position paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
