News

ABC urges ACMA to continuously drive participation in the misinformation code

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) should continue to have a role in driving digital platforms’ participation in the Australian misinformation code, according to the ABC.

The public service broadcaster made the claim in a submission to the latest revision of Australia’s disinformation and misinformation code, developed by the Digital Industry Group (DIGI), a nonprofit association. A response to submissions was published last month.

The disinformation and misinformation code has so far been adopted by eight signatories – Apple, Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok and Twitter.

The review comes after ACMA’s suggestion to investigate whether the code should broaden its regulatory scope, and ABC proposed that the media regulator should continue its role in “identifying those services that are strong candidates”.

This includes advising on participation criteria for digital entities (e.g. 500,000 active users per month) and establishing new “qualitative factors that could guide participation”.

DIGI resonated with sentiment and said it welcomes ACMA to play the role suggested by the ABC in the discussion paper.

From ACMA’s perspective, the organisation wants its authority on the code strengthened for transparency purposes. In a June 2021 report assessing the misinformation code, it proposed to be given “formal information-gathering powers”, which would allow it to request Australia-specific data on the effectiveness of measures to address disinformation and misinformation.

New requirements of the revised code include for small platforms (under one million active monthly users) to provide a transparency report to DIGI, updated annually as required. However, private messaging services such as WhatsApp are still left out of the misinformation discussion.

There also have been calls for the code to adopt an “opt-out” instead of the current “opt-in” approach, where companies are committed to all measures unless declared irrelevant.

In December, DIGI’s managing director Sunita Bose said of the review: “We’ve closely examined feedback and made updates that strengthen the code in a range of areas, including improving the threshold of what is considered harmful mis- and disinformation, and the code commitments on digital advertising.

“As mainstream platforms get better in their approaches to mis- and disinformation, it’s likely to proliferate elsewhere online. That’s why we’re also making changes today to make it easier for smaller companies to adopt the code.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.