Australia’s government is pressing ahead with a proposed digital duty of care for online platforms after the United States warned that the plan could encourage censorship of speech protected under American law.
The U.S. government lodged its concerns in a submission published Tuesday night during consultation on draft legislation. It objected to powers that would allow Australia’s communications minister to define foreseeable online harms and to requirements that could push global platforms to alter recommendation systems.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that the proposal was intended to give users more control, not to let the government police political thought. The bill has not yet been introduced in parliament.
The draft would require social-media services, online games, apps and artificial-intelligence chatbots to take reasonable steps to protect users under 18 from specified harms. Those include pornography, material promoting eating disorders, misogynistic content, glorification of dangerous acts and serious abuse or bullying. The eSafety Commissioner would be able to issue removal notices, and operators would have to document their safeguards.
The American submission raises an extraterritoriality problem familiar in digital regulation. Platforms design products globally, so a rule adopted for one country can influence what users elsewhere see. Australia answers that companies serving Australian users must comply with Australian law.
For now, the disagreement concerns an exposure draft rather than an enacted obligation. Parliament will be able to disallow designated harms under the proposed model, and the final text may change after consultation.
Australian eSafety Commissioner
