Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced plans to crack down on “misogynistic” content online by making misogyny a criminal offence in Australia.
The crackdown on free speech comes amid the Australian government’s focus on ‘women’s safety’, which they claim can only be addressed by eradicating harassment and bullying online.
“Young adults should not be coached in disrespect or misogyny by online influencers,” Prime Minister Albanese declared.
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“I understand parents want to protect their kids from harmful material online,” Albanese said. “Social platforms have important social responsibilities and we need them to step up. Taken together, these reforms will give Australian families some of the tools they need to navigate the complexity of the digital world.”
Reclaimthenet.org reports: The Prime Minister added that the legislation would carry “serious criminal penalties.”
The proposed measures include better tracking and monitoring the speech of those considered high-risk or repeat offenders and a drive to significantly reduce the presence of misogynistic content on social media platforms.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has expressed concern about the widespread dissemination of such content, particularly its impact on young users of social media. “The reality is that digital platforms are influencing our culture and social lives. They have a responsibility to do more to meet community standards,” Rowland said.
However, critics argue that the measures could infringe on digital rights and free expression, especially given the opaque nature of the algorithms that determine content dissemination.
The Australian government is now leveraging alleged recent incidents of online misogyny as a pretext to potentially expand the powers of the eSafety commissioner under the revised Online Safety Act. This prospect has ignited a heated debate about the balance between safety and freedom on the internet.
Just last year, Albanese expressed a desire to ban social media if he had dictatorial powers, particularly in light of challenges with “misinformation.” This statement coincided with parliamentary discussions on a controversial bill, raising alarms about potential government overreach in regulating online speech. Albanese highlighted his frustrations with anonymous “keyboard warriors” who spread false information, disrupting traditional news cycles.
More recently, the Prime Minister called for the banning of memes that made fun of him.
