I still think Australia is screwed but I’m glad for this
In a win for free speech advocates, the Australian Government formally abandoned its misinformation bill over the weekend, after failing to secure support in the Senate.
The proposed laws would have forced social media companies to show that they were preventing the spread of misinformation and disinformation on their platforms, with fines of up to 5% of global revenue for non-compliance.
The controversial bill was opposed by the Coalition (conservative Liberal and National Parties) but after several amendments, it sailed through the House of Representatives earlier this month with the support of Labor (centre left) and the Teals (the Greens did not participate in the vote).
However, by last week it was clear that Labor’s bill would not enjoy the same success in the Senate, as critical support from independent crossbench senators collapsed. The Greens’ announcement on Friday that the Party would not support the bill was the final nail in the coffin.
“Based on public statements and engagements with Senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,” said Communications Minister Michelle Rowland in a statement withdrawing the bill on Sunday, the day before it was to be voted on in the Senate.
The bill has been so roundly rejected by the Senate that a motion was passed on Monday to acknowledge the “shocking flaws” in Labor’s misinformation bill, and for the government to “categorically rule out reintroducing it.” . .
Source(brownstone.org)