The ‘Misinformation’ and ‘Disinformation’ Bill is back

September 20, 2024 

Last year the Federal Government chose not to move forward with a Bill to manage mis- and dis-information, following strong opposition from Australians.

But now the Bill is back.

The ‘Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024’ 1 once again threatens Australians’ freedom of speech and has already come in for strong criticism.

Federal MP Russell Broadbent told Parliament, ‘The Government’s so-called Combatting Misinformation Bill marks the beginning of the end for free speech and democracy in Australia.’ He said, ‘this Bill is another alarming example of overreach and a step towards government tyranny about what we can and cannot discuss. It gives the government unfettered power and control over Australians and their right to exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions.’ 2

Liberal Senator Alex Antic described the Bill as ‘a shocking, shocking piece of legislation.’ He said, ‘In essence, what this Bill, if it’s passed, is going to do is shut down free speech for Australian non-mainstream media digital content providers.’ He explains that it will allow the government to ‘tell people online what they can and can’t say. … This is going to become a Ministry of Truth. It’s going to become an absolute death knell for freedom of speech in this country. And without freedom of speech, there is no freedom at all.’ 3

Last year I pointed out some serious problems with the previous version of the Bill, which still apply. 4

  • It violates Australian’s democratic and constitutional rights to freedom of speech.

  • It blames the informer for the behaviour of the recipient by claiming that ‘misinformation’/’disinformation’ can cause people to do inappropriate things.

  • It can be used to censor any information on any issue that any government does not approve now and in the future.

  • No one government or agency has a monopoly on truth. Our perception of truth evolves over time with experience.

  • It will silence dissenting experts.


It is particularly concerning to put the evaluation of truth into the hands of government agencies that have strong links with industry.

Earlier this year, we heard from Sydney University researcher, Dr Nicholas Chartres, who explained that there is a well-known, textbook-like approach that large corporations use to influence government regulation. How do they do that?

  • They participate in regulatory and scientific committees, such as those conducting risk assessments and the development of public health guidelines.

  • They define what “sound science” is and how studies should be conducted to skew the science in their favour.

  • They stress that the scientific evidence is uncertain and create doubt about it, thus undermining its credibility.

  • They use the revolving door: industry employees obtain jobs in government agencies that regulate the industry they worked for, and vice versa.

  • They lobby policy makers: Unlike NGOs and health groups, they have extensive funding to lobby government agencies.

  • They fund pollical campaigns and parties to influence the politicians, who influence the government agencies and policy making. 5


If corporations are influencing governments like this, then how can governments be trusted to decide the truth for all Australians?

The inevitable result will be the suppression of real truth.

As journalist Dr Maryanne Demasi says, ‘The effort to curb misinformation is likely to sweep up masses of legitimate speech too, just like it did when the government intervened over 4000 times to restrict or censor posts about the covid-19 pandemic, much of which turned out to be true. 6


If you’re concerned about the Misinformation and Disinformation Bill, you can write to your local MP and senators and let them know how you feel.

References

  1. ‘Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill’, 2024, 

  2. Russell Broadbent, speech in Parliament 

  3. Alex Antic, Liberal Senator, Sky News, 

  4. The truth about EMR effects, 

  5. Maryanne Demasi, 'Free speech in Australia under threat’, 14 September 2024, 

  6. Biggest Global Health Risk, 

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