Albanese said on Monday:“We know some of the misinformation including naming some innocent bloke as the perpetrator[of the Bondi attack] is just extraordinary … and that was replicated.
“We need to recognise that,and social media has a responsibility.”
Early on Tuesday morning,Muskresponded to the prime minister’s attacks on X,re-posting a screengrab of Albanese’s remarks with the comment:“I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one”.
The political clamouring for new rules to curb social media has troubled some free speech advocates and cast a spotlight on a broader federal agenda tackling online misinformation.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told this masthead a group of top ministers was working to counter the “the vectors for harms” on digital platforms.
Rowland chairs the group which also includes Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus,Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil,Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
“[Video] recommender systems and algorithms do serve up harmful content that can not only promote eating disorders and contribute to poor mental health,but also vile and misogynistic stereotypes about women,” Rowland said,as many community leaders sound the alarm about messages pushed by influencers such as self-declared misogynist Andrew Tate,who is facing charges of rape and human trafficking.
The ministers in the online working group have all asked their departments to examine how to combat the damage caused by the algorithms that amplify claims made by distressing or false social media content.
Findings from that review,to be considered by the ministerial group later this year,could tie in with recommendations from a separate review of the Online Safety Act.
Due in October,that review is looking at new penalties for a broader range of bad behaviour online,while weighing up introducing a duty-of-care requirement for tech giants to protect citizens,particularly children.
Asreportedby this masthead last week,the two Sydney stabbing events strengthened Labor’s resolve to take on foreign-owned social media firms through anti-misinformation laws and rules forcing them to fund local journalism.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Sunday he would be open to examining a rejigged Labor bill to clamp down on misinformation,though the opposition was fiercely critical of a draft bill last year. Civil liberties and religious groups were also worried by elements of the bill.
The Albanese government also pursuing reforms on abuses of artificial intelligence such as deep fakes used to misrepresent the views of prominent figures such as billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and science communicator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.
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