The new legislation, which follows the live-streamed mosque shootings in Christchurch in New Zealand, make it illegal not to remove footage of 'a terrorist act,' murder, torture, rape and kidnapping.
Platforms like Facebook and YouTube could face billion dollar fines - up to 10 per cent of global annual turnover - for failing to allow the 'expeditious removal' of the offending material, while executives could face 3 years in jail.Technology companies, policy experts and lawyers pilloried the legislation, which was jammed through parliament in two days.
Australia's Law Council described the legislation as "knee-jerk" and warned it could have "serious unintended consequences." The Institute of Public Affairs described the legislation as a "blatant attack on the freedom of the media." The laws are expected to be followed by steps toward treating social media giants more like publishers, which would make them legally responsible for the content on their platforms.