Ethan Nash: TOTT NEWS
The federal government’s concerning ‘misinformation bill’ will face delays and head back to the drawing board, following significant criticisms of the dystopian legislation. But it will re-emerge in the future.
The Albanese government is reportedly set to overhaul its Orwellian draft bill surrounding online ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ following widespread opposition to the move.
The government has announced a delay in presenting the legislation to parliament until some time in 2024, as they adjust their strategy following some of the harsh criticisms of the bill.
The consultation period drew 23,000 responses, including 3,000 accepted submissions, many of which were critical of the bill.
This came after campaigns from the Coalition, Australian Human Rights Commission, One Nation and former LNP MP George Christensen:
Photo: Citizen GO
Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, said the government would ‘take on board’ the accepted responses in the public consultation and would “improve the bill”.
“The government is considering refinements to the bill, including to definitions, exemptions and clarification on religious freedom, among other things.”
She said the government remained committed to “…holding powerful digital platforms to account for seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation on their services”.
The Shadow Communications Minister, David Coleman, said this week that despite any proposed changes, the Coalition remained “fundamentally opposed” to the bill.
Although, some have questioned whether or not these changes may lead to tougher restrictions.
The push for this legislation began in March 2022, when the government announced plans to introduce news laws that would ‘combat online misinformation’.
After the election, Labor would continue the moves of the former Coalition government, introducing the draft bill in June of this year to the dismay of any free thinker in this country.
In the current form, the Australian Communications and Media Authority would be allowed to require social media companies to toughen policies on: “..content that is false, misleading or deceptive, and where the provision of that content on the service is reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm”.
But of course, government approved messages would not be subjected to these claims.
A great show of opposition to this legislation.
But it won’t be completely going away, and we should be wary about just how protective the revised bill will be when it is re-written and introduced next year.
We know the government likes to get their plans through one way or another.
BUT IT WILL BE BACK
The legislation is gone for now, but it will be back. And even if it ends up getting entirely defeated, we cannot trust the parasites in power to stay true to the word of the Australian people.
One recent example was the Voice referendum, in which states will push forward with treaties anyway.
Let’s not forget that facial recognition legislation came back in the form of digital identity programs after initially being rejected by a joint committee on intelligence and security in 2019.
Instead of a national facial recognition database, the dystopian agenda re-appeared through state-based legislation and government identity programs, which will all ultimately achieve the exact same goal.
So we must always keep an eye on these puppet politicians who will stop at nothing to get their agendas through, regardless of what the Australian public or committees say about the moves.
This is especially true when you consider Australia is a ‘world leader’ on the front to ‘fight disinformation’, with our e-Commissioner attending Davos 2023 and our international pledge to ‘reclaim the internet’.
Here in Queensland, we have just seen the elevation of a similar thoughtcrime bill that is aimed at ‘preventing vilification’ online, carrying on from the horrors of 18C and other questionable laws.\
Remember that it is in fact the power-hungry ruling classes that have been the biggest perpetrators of genuine disinformation over the past few years, a notion finally detailed in recent senate hearings.
Australia has been on a campaign over the past decade to suppress free speech, and it goes much deeper than simple online censorship. Our schools and society are brainwashing future generations to be the young Thought Police of the future, looking to combine their outlawing with intense propaganda.
‘Hate speech’ started as nothing but a blanket term for Thoughtcrime, as we detailed throughout 2019, and now online ‘misinformation’ is the latest step in this Orwellian push.
Another deserved celebration for the campaigners that pushed back against this first introduction.
But, as always in the fight for truth, it be will be short-lived as we watch for the next move of the state.
I say throw the whole thing out, but I’ll hold my breath to see that happen.
