Meta is predictably not a fan of the proposed law that'll give ACMA the power to "to combat online misinformation and disinformation", aka the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023. Meta's head of public policy in Australia, Josh Machin, told a Senate inquiry that the draft law has "some potential for that power to be abused, or for it to be used in a way that inadvertently chills free and legitimate political expression online". Coalition MPs are also going around on Sky News and whatnot calling it a "Ministry of Truth". It's weird to be agreeing with Meta and the Liberal party, but here we are. The law to me, at face value, seems deeply fucked up to have the government determine what can and can't be said online, while the "mainstream media" gets a free pass. My gut feeling is that this is a very bad idea.
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