Labor removes ministerial discretion from digital duty of care bill

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 05:44 · Archive

The Australian government has removed controversial ministerial powers from proposed online safety laws.

The federal government has scrapped controversial ministerial discretion from its Digital Duty of Care bill, introducing amended legislation to the House of Representatives on 15 October. Communications Minister Anika Wells says she will look at any further amendments in good faith but wants the bill passed intact and as soon as possible.

The removed clause would have granted the Communications Minister of the day total discretion to decide what constitutes 'harmful content' on social media. Under the changes, any further inclusion of harmful definitions would now have to be legislated. The government must negotiate in the Senate for the planned changes to become law.

The Greens have secured a Senate inquiry into the bill, which will report before the end of the parliamentary year. Their communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said the party agrees with the bill's intent but key elements are still missing, including a provision for individuals to seek compensation from tech companies for harmful content. Hanson-Young said compensation would give the duty of care package 'teeth' to make sure it actually works.

How it is being reported

• Tweaked Digital Duty of Care bill introduced to parliamentCommunications Minister Anika Wells says she will look at any further amendments to her digital duty of care bill in good faith, but wants to see it passed intact as much and as soon as possible. The minister introduced the Federal Government’s legislation to the House of Representatives on Thursday (15 October), where it will […]Riotact · 15 Oct, 05:28
• Live: Labor scraps controversial ministerial discretion in digital duty of care billThe federal government has scrapped controversial ministerial powers in proposed new online safety laws and beefed up protections for news content. Follow live.ABC Australian Capital Territory · 14 Oct, 21:02

In this story: Anika Wells · Sarah Hanson-Young · Australian Labor Party · Australian Greens · Australia

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