Action Alert! Something you can do today to help stop the spread of government-sponsored online misinformation
ACMA is having new powers granted to it. The intention is to stop people like me and you from sharing verified data. Let's turn the tables by using these powers to stop the government from lying!
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is one of the many alphabet organisations that is supposed to ensure that our rights are protected but instead, they simply work to protect government liars and their corporate sponsors.
In January 2023, ACMA was granted new powers to prevent online ‘misinformation’ described on their website as:
Misinformation explained
Misinformation can include:
made-up news articles
doctored images and videos
false information shared on social media
scam advertisements.
Misinformation can pose a risk to the health and safety of individuals, as well as society more generally. We have seen this with misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and 5G technology.
Some misinformation is deliberately spread – this is called disinformation – to cause confusion and undermine trust in governments or institutions. It is also used to attract users to webpages for financial gain, where they may click on ads or be lured into financial scams.
But not all misinformation is deliberately spread to cause harm. Sometimes users share misinformation without realising it.
Previously, ACMA was a paper tiger without any powers to change or charge. Now, in the time of COVID corruption, that is about to change:
On 20 January 2023, the Australian Government announced that the ACMA will be given new powers to hold digital platforms to account and improve efforts to combat harmful misinformation and disinformation in Australia. The government will consult on draft legislation in the first half of 2023.
According to the announcement linked above, these new powers will make ACMA judge, jury and executioner. And whilst previously, ACMA could only oversee those bodies who had signed the Digital Industries Group Inc (DIGI) code, the plan is to extend these draconian powers to those who are not signatories…eg, you and me.
The ACMA will be given new information-gathering and record-keeping powers to create transparency around efforts by digital platforms to respond to misinformation and disinformation on their services, while balancing the right to freedom of expression so fundamental to democracy.
The ACMA will also be empowered to register an enforceable industry code and to make a standard, should industry self-regulation measures prove insufficient in addressing the threat posed by misinformation and disinformation. This graduated set of powers includes measures to protect Australians, such as stronger tools to empower users to identify and report relevant cases.
These powers are consistent with the key recommendations in the ACMA’s June 2021 report to government on the adequacy of digital platforms’ disinformation and news quality measures. They are intended to strengthen and support the voluntary code arrangements undertaken by industry through the Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI) and will also extend to non-signatories of the DIGI Code,
Though it is stated that there will be public consultation during the first half of 2023, as of yet, it doesn’t appear to have started. Funny that!
Today, there are several things that we can and should each do.
1- Write to your local Federal Member of Parliament and ask them when the public consultation period begins on expanding ACMA’s power and insist that there be equal representation on ACMA’s board for bodies such as the Australian Vaccination-risks Network, Inc and other citizen-run groups since we are the real stakeholders. Ask that there be no industry involvement at all and also ask that the government be held accountable under these new powers since they are the biggest villains when it comes to misinformation about many issues.
2- If you find a government ad online in any venue (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc) that is not true, go to DIGI and file an online complaint about it. It’s quick and easy and will be the first step in seeing if DIGI will be equitable in its administration of the rules.
Ads such as the one below contradict the government’s own recommendations regarding COVID ‘boosters’ without informing the target audience (in this particular case, Original Australians) that according to ATAGI, these injections are no longer under a blanket recommendation.
It is up to us to keep the bastards honest. Let’s all do our bit to be part of the solution rather than enabling the problem via our silence.
Of course, if you do write and wouldn’t mind emailing a copy of your letter through to me, that would be great.
I understand ACMA will be changing its name as a government entity in the near future to better align to it's new role. "Australian Conspiracy Management Agency".
As you say, the biggest liars and misinformation spreaders are the Government and the media. Who do they think they are kidding. I met 2 young people yesterday at a medical clinic and both had vaccine injuries from this jab. All are bad doesn't matter which one you get. One of them was not aware that he had an injury and was surprised why he contracted the shingles and badly as well. ,Affected his eye. The other had taken Novavax, supposedly safer but he ended up getting pericarditis. So there you have it.