SYDNEY: The Australian government proposed a new law on Saturday (March 30) to make it a criminal offence if social media companies don’t quickly remove violent content from their platforms.
This comes after the March 15 shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a suspected white supremacist live-streamed the killings on Facebook, raised concerns on the role of social media in society.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said companies have a responsibility to make sure their platforms are safe and that they cannot be “weaponised by terrorists.”
Social media executives could spend up to three years in prison and their firms be fined 10 per cent of their turnover ̶ if this law passes parliament.
“Now when you talk about the billions and billions and billions that these companies rake in from their platforms, we are talking very serious penalties.” said Morrison. – Reuters
