The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is to chase misinformation and SMS scams as its sharpest targets in the 2022-23 year ahead.
Announcing its seven compliance priorities for the upcoming financial year, Chair of ACMA, Nerida O’Loughlin said the identified priorities would target issues that were likely to cause considerable financial and social harm to the Australian community.
“SMS scams have risen sharply over the last year, and we will soon be registering new rules for telcos requiring them to track and block those messages,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
“Online misinformation is also a growing cause for concern, so we will continue to review digital platforms’ performance under the recently implemented industry code and advise government on their effectiveness.”
She said another compliance priority for ACMA was online gambling, with the Authority set to launch a new national self-exclusion register in early 2022–23.
Ms O’Loughlin said the register would cover licensed online and telephone betting services, such as those that offered betting on horse racing and sports.
She said the new register would allow people to exclude themselves from betting services for anywhere between three months to permanently.
“The register will provide an avenue for people who want help changing their gambling habits and will complement existing consumer protection measures,” she said.
“Once you choose to self-exclude, it will be an offence for a licensed wagering provider to open an account for you, take a bet from you or to market gambling services to you.
“The ACMA will be enforcing those rules.”
Ms O’Loughlin said the Authority’s other compliance priorities for 2022-23 were protecting telco customers experiencing financial hardship, the online supply of dodgy devices, improving quality captioning for deaf and hearing-impaired audiences, and enforcing SMS and email unsubscribe rules.
Further information on ACMA’s 2022-23 priorities can be accessed at this PS News link.
