A new law is about to kill free speech and democracy in Australia

RT ^ | 11/05/2023 | Augusto Zimmermann

[Jan_Sobieski]

The Australian Government has recently introduced in Parliament a new law proposal to ban officially unapproved online content. Digital companies are expected to adopt a code of conduct which will see them censor speech based on broad, vague and far-reaching directives.

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Combating Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 foreshadows the imposition of a legal obligation on digital platforms to police alleged ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’. If that does not work, the law proposal provides for the full empowerment of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to directly intervene for the purpose of preventing ‘harm’.

Section 2 of the proposed legislation defines ‘harm’ as follows:

(a) hatred against a group in Australian society on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or physical or mental disability;

(b) disruption of public order or society in Australia;

(c) harm to the integrity of Australian democratic processes or of Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government institutions;

(d) harm to the health of Australians;

(e) harm to the Australian environment;

(f) economic or financial harm to Australians, the Australian economy or a sector of the Australian economy.

[citizen]

Here they go! 1984/Brave New World/Atlas Shrugged...
The laundry list of censorable offenses amounts to anything not approved by the fascists is prohibited.

[Jan_Sobieski]

Australia and New Zealand are always the test lab for the New World order

[JosephW]

A similar article was published in the journal of the Australian Computer Society. This might just be a reprint of it.