eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has sought to reassure the sex worker industry that she will not use proposed new online safety powers to shut down their businesses, amid broader concerns the laws are being rushed through Parliament.
Eros Australia, a peak body for the adult industry, is concerned the laws will result in “unintended consequences”, such as a purging of explicit content by some platforms, including sex worker profiles, so as to avoid falling foul of the laws. Scarlet Alliance, the national peak sex worker organisation, said a three-day working window to make submissions to the Senate inquiry was “unreasonably short”.
But Ms Inman Grant said the adult industry’s concerns were ill-founded and her office’s priority under the expanded powers would remain the removal of child sexual abuse material and material that incites, instructs or promotes terrorism or violent crime.“My role as a regulator is to protect all Australians from online harm, it’s not to restrict the sex industry.
A spokesman for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the proposed new laws were consistent with existing laws.“Suggestions the new Online Safety Bill will turn eSafety into an ‘internet filter’ or ‘force sex workers out of business’ reveal a misunderstanding of the law as it currently stands, and the changes proposed in the new bill,” the spokesman said.
LisaVisentin and the next eSafety Commissioner? Can we reasonably assume that the sex industry will not be the 'concern' of any future commissioner, ever? Of course not. That's why we've asked for a sunset clause.
LisaVisentin This bill cannot be trusted, it's far too much power and it WILL be abused OnlineSafetyBill Auspol
LisaVisentin The so-called sex industry should be shut down as the abhorrent, brutal, exploitative, sexist business in human trafficking that it is.
LisaVisentin First they destroyed the Game/film industry(NbN), then IT/online security industrys(aaBill), then destroyed China Trading Relationship(Their Arrogance), now they want to control the whole internet(eSafety bill), but they stand for jobs? What jobs exactly? Coles & coal mines?